Three men spared jail after attack on two brothers at Harrogate district tourist spot

Levi Lumley, 23, Jaycob Wallis, 19, and 18-year-old Luke Young set upon the two men in Pateley Bridge after an argument between Wallis and one of the victims in the street, York Crown Court heard.

The two brothers, both professional men who were with their wife and girlfriend respectively, walked away from the incident but were followed by the three men, said prosecutor Rachael Landin.

Suddenly, one of the brothers was pulled to the ground by Lumley and punched by others including Wallis.

Before he knew it, the victim’s head was being “driven into the pavement”.

Both brothers were then assailed by punches and kicks which were caught on CCTV and mobile-phone footage taken by witnesses.

The three attackers were arrested at the scene.

She said the victims had come across the three men at about 6.30pm on August 14, when they became embroiled in an argument in the High Street, a tourist hotspot which was packed with shoppers and tourists.

The victims said they “wanted to be left alone” and tried to walk away “to de-escalate things, but the group followed”.

“It was Levi Lumley who took hold of (one of the brothers) and took him to the floor,” said Mrs Landin.

During the ensuing scuffle on the ground, one of the brothers was repeatedly punched by the drunken pack and kicked by at least one of the assailants as passers-by filmed the incident on phones, footage from which was passed to police.

One of the brothers suffered a cut wrist, a grazed shoulder and pain to the side of his body.

The other victim suffered cuts and scrapes to his forehead and lip, a bloodied and swollen nose, bruising and his dental fillings had fallen out.

One of the victims - both highly articulate men - said it was “one of the most traumatic and distressing” experiences of his life.

He said he was now “paranoid and fearful about (the threat of violence) that exists, even in seemingly placid surroundings”.

The other victim, who had worked in the medical profession, said he was lucky to escape with such relatively minor injuries as he had treated people in hospital for much worse injuries for lesser incidents of violence.

He said it appeared that his attackers had set upon him “for their own amusement”.

He found it “galling” that he had spent months working in Kabul, at the epicentre of the troubles in Afghanistan, and had worked in some of the most dangerous places on earth, yet he had “experienced more violence on the streets of North Yorkshire than Afghanistan”.

Each of the defendants ultimately admitted affray and appeared for sentence yesterday (December 12).

Lumley - formerly of Nidd Walk, Pateley Bridge, but now living in Knaresborough - also admitted stealing a £7,400 Ford Fiesta by way of failing to meet direct-debit payments for the hire-purchase vehicle.

His barrister Marte Alanes said that since the “disgraceful” incident in Pateley Bridge, the father-of-two had cut down on alcohol.

She conceded that Lumley, who worked in scaffolding, had done some of the kicking.

John Hobley, for Wallis, said the teenager, a kitchen porter who had “anger issues”, denied doing any of the kicking but was involved in the “wider affray”.

Erin Kitson-Parker, for Young, said the teenager had been suspended from his college following the incident but had since left Pateley Bridge “to get away from certain friends”.

Judge Sean Morris slammed the three men for a “disgraceful, shocking piece of violence” on two innocent tourists which risked “putting people off” visiting some of the county’s most popular tourist destinations which normally had no reputation for violence.

He said although the offences were so serious, he could just spare each of them the clang of the prison gates because they had never behaved in this fashion before, each of them was remorseful, and two of the defendants had either left town or were caring for children.

Lumley, now of Willow Place, Knaresborough, was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence with 300 hours’ unpaid work for affray and stealing the hire-purchase vehicle.

Wallis, of High Crest, Pateley Bridge, was also given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and 300 hours’ unpaid work.

Young - formerly of Lofthouse but now of Knox Lane, Harrogate - was handed a six-month suspended sentence. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.

Each of the defendants was ordered to complete a rehabilitation programme and pay each of the two victims £120 compensation.