A MAN from Whitecross has been sentenced for his role in a town centre fight which left the victim unconscious.

Ellis Gosney, of Lovely Lane, struck the first blow which knocked the victim to the ground before another man kicked him in the head, Liverpool Crown Court was told on Friday.

CCTV footage played in court showed the victim approach 26-year-old Gosney in a ‘provocative’ manner before the fight broke out.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, told the court police had been alerted to reports of fighting on Barbauld street on Friday, May 4 last year at 2.25am.

When officers arrived, they found a man unconscious in the road and subsequently arrested Gosney.

In CCTV footage of the incident played in court, two men could be seen attacking the victim.

After withstanding attempts to be goaded and provoked by the eventual victim, Gosney then struck him with his fists and knocked him to the ground.

A second unnamed man then aimed a kick to the victim when on the floor which knocked him unconscious.

The court also heard that Gosney, who has three previous convictions for five offences, pleaded guilty to affray at the first opportunity and that the victim refused to provide a statement.

In mitigation, Anya Horwood revealed how a lot had happened in the life of the defendant since the incident.

Gosney lost his cousin to a domestic violence incident in November and his grandmother to illness, leading to a deterioration in his mental health.

“It is clearly an ugly incident to view and the defendant overreacted to what had happened before,” she said.

“The victim was plainly acting in a provocative manner, going up to members of the defendant’s group, and the defendant tried to lead people away before the incident unfolded.

“There has been a change in him since offending and he has also shown a lot of promise when working with the probation service.”

In sentencing, Recorder David Swinnerton said: “Some distressing things have happened in your life since the incident which has caused both you and your family to suffer.

“You initially played more of a peacekeeper role and the male was unconscious not because of you, but because another man kicked him in the head

“Although your behaviour was disgraceful after heavy drinking beforehand, this is a chance to put this behind you and start afresh.”

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Gosney was given a 12-month community order, made to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and handed 150 hours unpaid work.