Dad in fight after Euro soccer blow (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Dad in fight after Euro soccer blow

Mail Coach pub in Fleet StreetA FATHER-of-two who knocked a man unconscious in an unprovoked attack following England's exit from Euro 2004 has walked free from court.

Terry Maslen, 34, launched the drunken town centre attack after England's quarter-final defeat to Portugal in a penalty shootout.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how victim, Lee Llewellyn had gone into town with two friends after watching the game on June 24 last year.

She said the two men and a woman arrived outside the Mail Coach pub in Fleet Street shortly before 11.30pm and headed up an alley towards John Street.

"As they were walking along there was a verbal altercation between the man with Mr Llewellyn and Mr Maslen, who was walking in the other direction with another man," she said.

The woman with them stepped in between the two men and Mr Llewellyn also tried to get in the way to calm things down.

"He was punched causing him to lose consciousness. A doorman at the Mail Coach saw this and put him in the recovery position," she said.

"Mr Maslen and his friend walked away towards the David Murray John building. The police and ambulance were called and Mr Llewellyn was taken to hospital.

"A street identification was carried out where Mr Maslen and his friend were identified. He was arrested and interviewed."

She said he told police that two men had been shouting at him, one in front and one behind, when one grabbed his shoulder so he swung a punch.

Maslen, of Ripon Way, Park North, at first denied any wrongdoing but pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm on the morning of his trial.

Richard Job, defending, said that there was little he could say about the assault itself except that all the men there had been drinking heavily.

"There was an altercation in the street but it was a single blow and Mr Llewellyn was knocked out cold," he said.

Although his client kept himself fit he said the injuries were more likely caused when he hit the ground rather from the force of the punch.

Maslen's only previous conviction for assault was from a long time ago, he said, and in the 15 months since the attack he had not bothered the police.

He said that Maslen had worked hard to get his own business up and running and that could fail if he was jailed.

Maslen also has children aged 12 and six-years-old who he saw every weekend, he said.

Sentencing him Judge Charles Wade said: "It is quite clear from the papers that you had had a good deal to drink on this occasion and you committed what was in effect a completely unprovoked on a passer-by.

"It might have been that you were involved in some verbal confrontation but there was absolutely no reason for assaulting this person."

He said that as the attack was a single blow he did not have to impose an immediate jail term and instead ordered him to do 150 hours of community service and pay £400 compensation and £250 costs.

Jamie Hill