DON'T THEY LOOK SORRY; Smiles from violent pub thugs as they walk free from court.Byline: By GARETH LIGHTFOOT THESE pub thugs laughed and celebrated outside court after they were allowed to walk free. Carl Foley and Nathan Guthrie, pictured, could barely contain their joy as they left Teesside Crown Court yesterday, along with pal Peter Breckon, despite admitting wrecking and defiling a Teesside pub pool room and attacking customers. The trio refused to leave the Kings Head pub on Westgate, Guisborough after Foley urinated on a pool table, Breckon snapped a cue in a "sword fight fencing; a combat or trial of skill with swords; swordplay. See also: Sword " and the group trashed the pool room. Foley started the violence. He swung a punch at an Army Cadet instructor and picked up and raised a chair. All three were pushed outside where they launched a "frenzied" group assault on an off-duty barman, then followed him inside for more, on October 30 last year. When the barman's partner told the yobs to stop, Breckon said: "Don't touch me or I'll lay you out, little girl. I'll knock **** out of you." At just 17, Foley already had 54 previous offences to his name, including violence on Westgate, and an Anti-social Behaviour Order (Asbo) which he had breached several times. Recognised in the pub from his Asbo photograph, Foley had flouted numerous community penalties and been locked up. But taking the word of an expert who said he had changed, Judge Les Spittle spit·tle n. Spit; saliva. gave him a "last chance before a long custodial sentence custodial sentence n → pena de prisión custodial sentence n → peine f de prison custodial sentence n → ". Vicky Leach, Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP ISSP Institute for Solid State Physics (University of Tokyo) ISSP International Social Survey Programme ISSP Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (UK) ISSP International Space Station Program ) case manager, said of Foley: "Carl does seem to have turned a corner. "His attitude has completely changed. He's very, very frightened of going to custody today. "He seems to have tried to do everything within his grasp to change his life around. A chance should be taken with him." She said he made good progress on an ISSP in the last eight to 10 months and kept out of trouble since he moved from Guisborough to live with relatives in Grangetown. He went to college, applied for a labouring job and got involved in fundraising. Foley's barrister Richard Herrmann said he showed "significant shoots of recovery". Judge Les Spittle warned the trio that if they got in trouble again: "I will lock you up for the maximum period that I can. I talk with the same local dialect as yourselves. I do not kid you." The judge told the trio: "You started off in the snooker room. You're in the last chance saloon Last Chance Saloon was a popular name of a type of bar in the United States which began to appear in the 19th Century as an early expression of border economics. Saloons situated near areas where alcohol was not easily obtainable frequently took the name as a literal indication to at the moment." He said they were not fit to call themselves men for their "appalling" behaviour. "You behaved like unprincipled children. You don't deserve the respect of anybody. "It would be very easy for me, and there are many that would congratulate me, if I locked you up for as long as I could. "But that might not be fruitful as far as the future is concerned." Foley, of Arundel Road, Grangetown; Breckon, 19, of Brockrigg Court, Guisborough; and Guthrie, 17, of Woodhouse Road, Guisborough, all admitted affray A criminal offense generally defined as the fighting of two or more persons in a public place that disturbs others. The offense originated under the Common Law and in some jurisdictions has become a statutory crime. . Foley admitted breaching his Asbo that night. Breckon also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and other driving offences from a terrifying 20-minute joyride on August 29. He took the car of a 78-year-old family friend, for whom he ran errands, who trusted him with house keys and treated him "like family". He drove the Citroen Xsara "like a madman", said one of his four passengers, as he ignored their pleas to slow, stop or let them out. He sped into bends, span the car to the other side of a dual carriageway dual carriageway Noun Brit, Austral & NZ a road with a central strip of grass or concrete to separate traffic travelling in opposite directions Noun 1. , hit a stone wall and smashed into metal railings. Defence barristers for Breckon and Guthrie said they felt remorse, were appalled and disgusted with their behaviour and had worked to address problems with alcohol and bad peer influences. Judge Spittle gave Breckon a 12-month custodial sentence suspended for two years. Foley and Guthrie each received two-year community rehabilitation orders, Foley with an ISSP. Breckon and Guthrie were also each ordered to complete 200 hours' unpaid work. All three received three-month curfew orders with electronic tagging Electronic tagging is a form of non-surreptitious surveillance consisting of an electronic device attached to a person or vehicle, especially certain criminals, allowing their whereabouts to be monitored. . The judge lifted reporting restrictions allowing all defendants to be named, saying it was in the public interest. CAPTION(S): WALKED FREE: Nathan Guthrie, on the left, and Carl Foley, outside court; LAST CHANCE: Carl Foley, left, and Peter Breckon, above, walk free from court after a final warning |
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