Lout locked up after horrific booze-fuelled Kettering attack

A defenceless man was left with double vision and a fractured collarbone after he was set upon by a drunk thug in Kettering's town centre.

Booze-fuelled Glenn Ribchester repeatedly punched his victim in the face, landing about 12 blows and leaving him unconscious in Gold Street.

And as the man lay helpless on the ground he was kicked in the head by another drunk lout, Corey Stafford.

Yesterday (Thursday) Ribchester was jailed and Stafford was given a suspended sentence after the pair admitted causing grievous bodily harm.

Leicester Crown Court heard the victim, a man in his 50s, had been out drinking and came across a group of people at about 4.45am on September 20 last year. With a friend, the victim decided to slow down so they didn't catch up with them as they were drunk.

But instead Ribchester, 44, approached him, punched him and subjected him to a devastating assault despite his best efforts to walk away.

Prosecuting, Ben Gow said that after the first punch he followed him and hit him three or four more times before pulling his victim to the floor, climbing on top of him and punching him eight further times in the face.

In an incident caught on CCTV, 27-year-old Stafford was seen dancing in the background before kicking the victim once in the head while he was on the floor.

The attack left the victim with a fractured collarbone, cuts and bruising and in significant pain and discomfort from a shoulder injury.

He suffered double vision for a while and was under the care of an eye specialist, struggling to sleep.

Reading a victim statement from October, Mr Gow said: "He has only left the house for hospital appointments.

"Now he just wants to stay away from everybody.

"He feels like he will never want to go out again in Kettering."

The court heard Ribchester had previous convictions for assault and battery and was on a suspended sentence at the time for shoplifting.

Mitigating, Will Heyward said Ribchester was a former carpenter and joiner who started a "downward spiral" in 2018 after his equipment was stolen, with the thug becoming homeless.

He added he had shown genuine remorse and was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the attack.

He said: "He is horrified by what he has done. He saw the incident back at the police station and has not sought to hide his actions.

"He would like to apologise to the victim and would like to do whatever he can to make reparations for what he has done."

Stafford, formerly of Thorngate Street in Kettering, had to be repeatedly told to stop interrupting proceedings and was given several warnings by His Honour Judge David Herbert QC. At one point in the hearing he shouted "Oi Glenn!" to his co-defendant, who appeared over videolink from HMP Peterborough.

His criminal past includes convictions for attempted robbery and possessing a bladed article, for a which he was on a suspended sentence at the time.

Mitigating for him, Shital Maher said he was drunk and that he suffers from autism and learning difficulties.

But she said: "It does not in any way justify his behaviour."

Judge Herbert sentenced Ribchester to 22 months in prison for GBH and a further four months for an unrelated assault in Rushden.

The thug, who has been on remand since September, will serve half of his 26-month sentence in custody before being released on licence.

Stafford was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 21 months.

He will have to take part in rehabilitation activities and a tag, which he has worn since he first appeared before magistrates in September, will stay on for a further five months.

Judge Herbert said: "This was a nasty attack on a man who very quickly was unable to defend himself."