Soccer hooligans begin jail terms after brawl costs public £60,000

Three of the thugs involved in the brawl have been jailed and a further three received suspended sentences after the violent skirmish between Shrewsbury and Walsall supporters, which started in front of shoppers in Mardol, Shrewsbury before spilling out across Smithfield Road, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Police officers were injured as they tried to restore order before the League One game on October 14 last year, including Constable Lee Saunders, who suffered a broken leg.

Extra policing to end the mayhem and arrest those responsible cost £24,000 and the subsequent criminal investigation cost another £30,000.

The Crown Prosecution Service used a further £5,600 to prepare each case for sentencing, bringing the total amount of taxpayers' money spent as a result of the brawl to £59,600.

Eight men appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday after they each pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

The court watched CCTV footage of the disorder, which involved multiple fights, with men kicking and punching one another.

Sentencing, Judge Graham Cliff, said: "This was in a public place where members of the public were no doubt frightened, inconvenienced and in which a police officer was injured."

He said the brawl was not pre-planned and he passed sentences on each individual based on their level of involvement.

Shaun Peach, 25, of Old Heath, Heathgates, Shrewsbury, had only just come to the end of a four year ban on attending regulated football matches when he muscled in on the fracas. He had a criminal record comprising 15 offences and nine sets of convictions, resulting in sentences including four months in a young offenders institute for affray.

He was jailed for 12 months and received a six-year ban from football matches.

Also jailed was Stephen Hawkesford, 37, of Allerton Road, Shrewsbury, who had a criminal record of 14 offences and had previously served a four-year ban from football games. The father-of-three was imprisoned for 12 months and was given a six-year ban.

Daniel Jones, 26, of Brook Gardens, Ford, Shrewsbury, received a six-month jail term and a six-year ban. It was the first conviction for the plasterer who has three children.

Meanwhile, Alexander Pugh, 19, of Lowfield, Shrewsbury, received a six-month sentence in a young offenders institute suspended for 12 months, after he admitted he had intended to cause "mayhem" as he got a "buzz" out of football violence.

Pugh, a plasterer with no previous convictions, was banned from attending regulated football matches for four years and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Lewis Gardiner, 19, of Mottershead, Shrewsbury, who had no previous convictions, was sentenced to six months in a young offenders institute suspended for 12 months. He was banned for four years and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work. He must obey a curfew to be home between 8pm and 6am Friday to Sunday and pay £500 costs.

David Jones, 37, of Sultan Road, Shrewsbury, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years. The forklift truck driver and father of two was given a four- year ban from football games and must undertake 250 hours of unpaid work.

Aaron Pinches, 20, of Prestbury Green, Shrewsbury, said he had drunk eight to nine pints before the brawl and his mother would have given him "a clip around the ear" if she had seen the CCTV footage. He had no previous convictions and was banned from football games for four years. He must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Paul Walker, 42, of Swains Meadow, Church Stretton, had his case adjourned for four weeks to await reports. The court heard he had six sets of previous convictions from 12 offences including violent disorder and actual bodily harm. He had once been the victim of football-related violence, having been stabbed while waiting for a taxi with his girlfriend in an unrelated incident.