An armed brawl broke out in the middle of a busy Bolton street as horrified onlookers watched on.
The violence started after Daniel Llewellyn and Michael Allen turned up outside a block of flats in Bromwich Street, The Haulgh, following an earlier altercation in a nearby park.
Both men were seen on CCTV looking towards the property and Llewellyn, 33, was spotted reaching over a wall to pick up a saw, while Allen, 33, was on the phone.
READ MORE: Residents say armed brawl which hospitalised four people is 'everyday occurrence'
But Luke Bracegirdle, 30, then came rushing out of the building armed with a metal pole, prosecution barrister Chloe Fordham told Bolton Crown Court.
Llewellyn hit Bracegirdle with the saw and Bracegirdle used the pole to attack Llewellyn.
The court heard that at the time of the brawl, there were a number of onlookers in the street, including a woman walking a dog, a child with their parent and worshippers outside a mosque.
Eventually more people ran into the street, including Andrew Williamson, 22, and Jack Bent, 26.
Williamson punched and kicked Llewellyn and Bent hit Llewellyn with a table leg 17 times.
Bracegirdle held Llewellyn down and Bent continued to hit him until he slumped to the floor.
Even once he was slumped on the floor, Bracegirdle continued the assault, Ms Fordham said.
At one point Bracegirdle got hold of the saw after Llewellyn dropped it and this was used against him.
Bracegirdle, Williamson and Bent then retreated back to the flat.
Police arrived soon after and Llewellyn had a number of ‘deep lacerations’ to his arm and slashes to his body, along with head injuries.
Allen was found on the street with a knife in his bag, but this was not used at any point during the brawl.
Inside the flat, police found the saw and the long metal pole used by Bracegirdle.
Llewellyn told the police that Allen had previously been attacked with a screwdriver in the park and that they were defending themselves.
Allen had a black eye and two ‘superficial lacerations’, Ms Fordham said.
Llewellyn, of Osbourne Grove, Halliwell, and Allen, of no fixed address, were sentenced today (Friday January 14 2022).
Defending Llewellyn, who was convicted of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon following a trial, was Hugh Barton.
Mr Barton told the court that Llewellyn had been homeless for 18 months at the time of the incident and that he was addicted to spice.
He said that he had been the victim of a ‘sustained assault by armed men’ prior to the brawl and that he did not go to the flat armed.
Mr Barton claimed that he picked the saw up in self-defence after seeing Bracegirdle running towards him with a metal pole, although due to the position of the CCTV cameras, this could not be confirmed.
Allen pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article on the first day of his trial.
The court heard that just four days after the brawl, he was arrested again, after being found with an offensive weapon in Victoria Square.
He was convicted of that offence in September and jailed for six months, after claiming that the tool was ‘a device for measuring the breast width of racing pigeons’.
Defending Allen, Roger Wilson told the court that he had actually been on the phone to 999 at the time of the brawl.
Mr Wilson stressed that although he had a knife in his possession, Allen chose not to use it and later told police exactly what had happened.
Allen, appearing via video link, was reading a newspaper as Mr Wilson mitigated his case and left the link before Recorder Richard Wright QC passed sentence.
Llewellyn was jailed for three years and Allen was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
Bracegirdle, of Settle Street, Great Lever, and Bent, of Lonsdale Grove, Farnworth, both admitted violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon. Williamson, of Toon Crescent, Brandlesholme, Bury, admitted violent disorder. All three will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on February 4.
