Nineteen men sentenced over Notts County brawl on St Patrick's Day

NINETEEN men have been left with criminal records following a two minute fight in a pub after a Notts County game.

The incident occurred at Squares pub in the city centre on St Patrick's Day last year after Sheffield Wednesday beat Notts County on Saturday, March 17.

The pub was full at the time, with a number of people already in the city celebrating St Patrick's Day or watching the 6 Nation's rugby fixture.

The brawl began after some of the Sheffield visitors attacked another group.

Along with punches, plastic glasses and furniture were thrown during the fight and innocent members of the public received minor injuries from projectiles.

Of the 19 men, nine were from Notts and ten were from Sheffield. All were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday after previously pleading guilty to charges of affray.

The men received the following sentences:

Paul Simon Webster, 46, of Rowe Gardens in Bulwell, Nottingham, received an eight-month jail term, suspended for 18 months. He is also required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in costs.

Ross Smith, 22, of Bainton Grove in Clifton, Nottingham, is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in costs.

Karl Neil Rowlett, 23, of Wilford Grove in Nottingham, is required to perform 180 hours of unpaid work and has to pay £200 in prosecution costs.

Lewis Betts, 21, of Wheatacre Road in Clifton, Nottingham, is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work.

Reece Moore, 20, of Mona Road in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work.

Kyle Harris, 20, of Fairmaid Grove in Clifton, Nottingham, is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work.

Stephen Lee Glover, 38, of Kersall Drive in Bestwood, Nottingham, is required to perform 180 hours of unpaid work.

Jordan Derek Rickett, 22, of Rosegarth Walk in Basford, Nottingham, is required to perform 180 hours of unpaid work.

Darren Wayne Handley, 44, of Radford Road in Whitemoor, Nottingham, is required to perform 160 hours of unpaid work.

Jamie Walker, 36, of Westcroft Drive in Westfield, Sheffield was fined £1,000, issued with three-year football banning order and ordered to £200 in costs.

Robert Andrew Clayton, 35, of Kent House Close in Ridgeway, Sheffield is required to perform 280 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in costs and was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Joshua Kay, 25, of Hopefield Avenue in Frecheville, Sheffield is required to perform 240 hours of unpaid work and was issued with a three-year football banning order

Michael Roebuck, 47, of Basegreen Road, in Sheffield, is required to perform 220 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in costs and was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Steven Mathew Dudley, 35, of Ridgeway Moor in Ridgeway, Sheffield is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in costs and he was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Jamie Croft, 35, of Quarry Hill in Sheffield is required to perform 220 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in costs and was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Lee Anthony Smedley, 43, of Charnock Grove in Sheffield is required to perform 220 hours of unpaid work and was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Stephen John Minshall, 40, of Newbould Crescent in Beighton, Sheffield, is required to perform 40 hours of unpaid work and was issued with a three-year football banning order.

Nigel Congreve, 43, of Owlthorpe Avenue in Mosborough, Sheffield is required to perform 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in costs.

Darren Hackett, 42, of Hopedale Road in Frecheville, Sheffield is required to perform 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in costs.

The majority of the culprits fled before police arrived, however, up to 160 hours of CCTV footage was viewed in a bid to identify those involved. Police even scoured the crowd at a later Notts County game where Handley, Rowlett and Moore were found.

Superintendent Mark Holland, Notts Police force-lead for football, described them as a group of men who needed "little excuse" for violence.

"Many of them barely had time to get into the city and buy their first drink before they were fighting.," he said.

"While there was clear provocation from the Sheffield group, the Nottingham men used violence that went far beyond what would have been deemed as reasonable defence of themselves. 

"This should be a lesson to anyone who thinks any type of violence is acceptable. It isn't — certainly not in a busy pub — and you will be prosecuted. If you are a football fan we will also seek to ban you from games.

"Thankfully the pub used plastic glasses and fortunately no one was seriously hurt. We work very closely with licensed premises and it is now standard practice that they serve drinks in plastic glasses before, during and after the football."