Men jailed for their part in 'terrifying' Goodwood brawl

A mass brawl involving more than 30 people has led to jail time for nine of the men involved.
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Police stock image

Nine of the men who took part in the fighting at Goodwood races have been jailed for a total of eight-and-a-half-years.

Goodwood security staff were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers involved and Sussex Police were deployed to deal with the situation. One security guard was knocked unconscious after being punched and kicked.

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Clear footage showed how one man was kicked with force in the head as he lay unconscious on the ground.

Witnesses reported hearing football chanting and subsequent investigations by the police identified the two main groups involved had associations with either Southampton or Portsmouth football clubs.

Eleven men pleaded guilty to their part in the fighting at Guildford Crown Court.

Ryan Richter, from the CPS, said: “This must have been a terrifying experience for people at the racecourse that day and this could be seen on the footage recorded of the incident.

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“Such yobbery cannot be tolerated among families trying to enjoy a pleasant day out and will be prosecuted where there is evidence to do so. “

“In building this case, we received a huge amount of help from all the racegoers who supplied their mobile phone footage of what happened to the police.

“This enabled us to put together such a strong case that all of the defendants in this case pleaded guilty when faced with the wealth of evidence against them.”

David Salway, 29, Michael Suffield, 30, Paul Hand, 33, Jack McLoughlin, 24, Jack Cooper, 23, Tyrone Sharp, 28, Peris Dore, 28, James Whitlock, 27, and a youth all pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Lesley Sharp, 50, pleaded guilty to common assault and Kyle Binns, 27, pleaded guilty to affray.