A CARLISLE man caught on CCTV attacking a man on a city centre street claimed the victim had assaulted his younger brother.

At the city’s Rickergate court, Steven Rhys Weir, 26, pleaded guilty to a using threatening behaviour on March 18 after it was confirmed that the victim of his violence declined to give police a statement.

Prosecutor Peter Kelly described what the city centre CCTV showed of the defendant’s violent behaviour.

The footage shows the defendant – wearing a white T-shirt – walking purposefully along the middle of a road at night before crossing the road to where another man is walking along the pavement in the same direction.

“The defendant is clearly seen approaching the second male and he is described as launching an unprovoked attack,” said the prosecutor. The video shows Weir punching the man to the ground and then continuing the attack.

He punches, kicks and at one point stamps on the victim while he is sprawled on the ground, and Weir even returns to continue the violence after a bystander tries to pull him away. Moments later, police intervene and arrest him.

The violence lasted just over one minute, the court heard.

Andrew Gurney, for Weir, said of the defendant: “He was out drinking with his younger brother, and they were in a club when the victim in this case assaulted his brother and was ejected by security.

“Mr Weir went over to this man to remonstrate with him,” said Mr Gurney.

“Then what was seen on the CCTV happened.” The court also heard from a probation officer who was in court about an earlier offence for which the defendant was serving a community order at the time of the incident in question.

The defendant, who gave his address as Colville Terrace, Denton Holme, Carlisle, was sentenced for assaulting his former partner, on an occasion when he punched her three times in the face.

District Judge John Temperley noted the defendant’s previous offences for violence and how the CCTV footage showed him apparently stamping on his victim after punching him to the ground.

“You were clearly in drink and that so that is a further aggravating factor,” said the judge. The defendant was jailed for a total of 20 weeks.  He just also pay a £154 victim surcharge.

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