A MUM has told of her horror as she watched her partner and son being kicked by a gang of yobs in an attack with echoes of the murder of Garry Newlove.

Christopher Curtis, aged 18, of Tyne Close, in Orford, was found guilty after a three-hour trial on Friday at Warrington Magistrates Court in relation to the attack. He was convicted of kicking a 19-year-old, also called Christopher Curtis but unrelated. The victim’s stepfather, Alex Everett, aged 36, had been kicked by two other thugs as he lay on the ground.

Michelle Curtis, mum of victim Christopher and partner of Alex, says it is an image her family, of Thames Close, will never forget.

She told the Guardian: “Garry Newlove was going through my mind. I thought I was going to lose one or both of them because of the sheer brutality of the kicks – they were going for the head.

“Every time I shut my eyes I can see it.”

She was enjoying a family barbecue in her back garden on Saturday, May 10 this year with two sons, Christopher and Joshua, aged seven, and Mr Everett and his mother.

Prosecutor Philip Riley said the family was disturbed by shouting and swearing around 9.30pm and Christopher (the victim) and Alex went to investigate.

Christopher Curtis (the victim) said he discovered two teens including Christopher Curtis (the defendant) trying to force their way into his next-door neighbour’s home.

The defendant was banging on the window while another youth had his foot in the front door. A gang of up to 20 boys and girls was also in the close.

The victim and his stepfather asked the gang to leave, but more youths climbed over a garden fence on to the road. The defendant became more aggressive, ripping off his top and shouting ‘come on then’. Another youth then punched Mr Everett in the head.

Miss Curtis said: “Even though he is a big lad he went down and they surrounded him, kicking him. It was like a pack of wolves.

“My son got on top of Alex to stop him being kicked. They were shouting ‘stamp on him’.”

Alex suffered a broken rib while Chris (the victim) escaped with bruises and cuts after being kicked ‘three or four times’ in the back.

He identified the defendant as his attacker, having known him beforehand on account of their shared name.

The defendant was arrested 20 minutes after the incident – after jumping on top of a car on Blackbrook Avenue, smashing its sunroof before falling off and breaking his arm.

He admitted he had drunk nine pints of lager between 6pm and 8pm at the Jolly Falstaff pub on Blackbrook Avenue, with his family.

He told police he had gone to a house on Thames Close with a friend to look for another teenager, who he claimed had attacked a friend.

But the defendant, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and had not taken enough of his medication, admitted he was ‘very drunk’ and angry. He pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage.

However, he said he had been punched first by the victim, denied kicking his namesake and argued that he was acting in self-defence. He will be sentenced on August 6.