Brawler spared jail after assaulting two strangers in Hartlepool town centre after a night out

Michael Simpson, 31, recognised that he had a problem and he would welcome help, his lawyer told Teesside Crown Court.

Simpson started two fights with other men as he made his way home through the centre of Hartlepool at 5am, said prosecutor Rachel Masters.

He repeatedly punched one man with both hands after asking him for money for a taxi, but the victim struck back and they fell to the ground.

Miss Masters said: “This went on for 30 to 40 seconds until two people pulled the defendant off him.

“He went home and it was only there that he discovered that he had a cut lip.”

Simpson continued to walk along York Road where a couple were also walking.

Miss Masters said that the man saw a confrontation on-going, and he intervened and got hold of Simpson.

They went to the ground and Simpson was shouting for him to get off while the man tried to get him to calm down.

She added: “The defendant got to his feet and he started punching him a number of times in the face.

“The couple left and the defendant followed him to the traffic lights on Elwick Road.

“The defendant ran at him and some of the man’s friends saw what was going on and they intervened.”

In police interviews Simpson said that he saw a man having an argument with his friend.

The prosecutor added: “He said that a man accused him of robbing somebody, but he said that he had not robbed anybody.”

Simpson, who had been out of trouble since 2008, was initially charged with attempted robbery, which he denied.

The prosecution offered no evidence against him and he was formally found not guilty.

Stephen Constantine, defending, said Simpson had been on a tagged electronic curfew since his arrest in October which was equivalent to more than the maximum six months prison sentence for the assaults.

He said: “Mr Simpson has said in the pre-sentence report and again today that he would welcome some assistance in any sentence.

”He recognises that he has had problems because of his drinking and that some assistance has been offered to him.”

Judge Stephen Ashurst told him: “You know the element that drink played in this offending, and you have said that you are ashamed of your behaviour and want to do something about your drinking.”

Simpson, of Devon Street, Hartlepool, was given a 12-month community order with 15 days rehabilitation requirements after he pleaded guilty to two common assaults on October 13 last year, and he also admitted criminal damage.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.