Former doorman sentenced over 'one-punch' attack

Ciaran Spencer, pictured before being jailed in 2020, was previously given a four-year jail term for manslaughter

A former doorman who was jailed for manslaughter after the death of a nightclubber has been given a suspended prison term for a separate attack.

Ciaran Spencer, 31, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man who had been on a night out in Skipton on 13 December last year.

Spencer was captured on CCTV "marching" towards the man and punching him in the face outside a pub on High Street in the town, Bradford Crown Court heard.

The defendant was previously jailed for four years in 2020 after a jury convicted him of unlawfully killing 24-year-old James Etherington at a Bingley club in November 2017.

On that occasion, Spencer used what was described by a judge as a "grossly inappropriate choke hold" before letting the victim fall backwards and hit his head on the ground.

At his sentencing for last year's incident on Monday, Spencer was said by the prosecution to have walked back into the pub to collect his jacket after punching the victim, who was left motionless on the ground.

Spencer, of Green Head Drive, Utley, then left the scene, the court heard.

Prosecutor Thomas Cowan said the victim had been involved in an earlier incident in the pub.

The incident happened on High Street in Skipton last December

The court heard that the complainant did not remember any interaction with Spencer after he woke up in hospital.

He suffered bleeding and swelling to the brain and a fracture to the back of his skull.

In a victim impact statement, he described how his loved ones had been deeply worried and they had to care for him for several weeks after the attack.

Barrister Erin Kilson-Parker, representing Spencer, admitted her client's previous manslaughter conviction would be a concern for the court.

She said Spencer had made "huge errors of judgement", but that there had been a catalyst to the offence in Skipton.

Recorder Ciaran Rankin told the hearing there was no justification for Spencer getting involved in what could be deemed to be a revenge attack.

But he concluded that the jail term could be suspended and he ordered Spencer to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay his victim £1,500 in compensation.

Spencer will also have to comply with a 30-day rehabilitation programme and abide by a 21:00 to 06:00 curfew for the next three months.

Det Con Nicky Wareham, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "In a moment of aggression, Spencer forgot just how dangerous one-punch incidents can be.

"In a split second it changed not only his life but also the life of the victim, who suffered serious injuries."

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