'Loutish' thugs punched and spat at Leeds couple outside their own home in 'ugly' revenge attack
A pair of drunken thugs attacked and spat at a couple at their own home in the middle of the night in a “loutish” revenge attack.
Gareth Hirst and Gary Ingham were both spared immediate custody at Leeds Crown Court, despite the judge describing it as an “ugly, violent incident”.
It stemmed from a confrontation between the female victim and Hirst’s ex wife.
The former partner then told Hirst that the woman had attacker her. He then recruited Ingham after the pair had been drinking and attended the couple’s home on Pendas Way, Menston, after midnight on October 9, 2022.
They both had bottles in their hands but neither used them in the attack. Ring doorbell camera footage showed Hirst leading with Ingham behind, beckoning the couple to come outside.
The court was told that after the couple stepped outside, the woman slapped one of the defendants when they called her a name. An “all-out attack then ensued”.
Hirst, 43, dragged the male victim to the floor and the woman tried to intervene, so he turned his attention to her, punching her to the face and knocking her down, then punching her again.
Meanwhile 38-year-old Ingham, who hurled his bottle at a car, then attacked the man, landing multiple hard punches to his body and head.
Hirst waded in again as Ingham kicked ther man as he was prone on the floor. The woman again tried to stop them, but was punched to the face and briefly knocked unconscious.
They then began to walk away, but not before Ingham spat at them.
The woman was left with a cut above her eye and bruising, while the male suffered cuts and bruises to his face.
Hirst, of White Laithe Gardens, Whinmoor, has one conviction for two battery offences.
Ingham, of Poole Crescent, Cross Gates, has 10 previous convictions for 14 offences, including a Section 20 GBH without intent, for which he received a 27-month jail sentence in 2017.
Ingham admitted ABH and Section 20 GBH, while Hirst admitted ABH on the day of trial and was convicted of Section 20 GBH by the jury.
Mitigating for Hirst, Kate Temple-Mabe pointed to his sole previous conviction. She added: “He realised it was a stupid thing to do. He knows it has crossed the custodial threshold.
“He simply failed to control his temper.”
She said he has insight into his “triggers” and was willing to engage with probation.
For Ingham, Eddison Flint said he had since rid himself of cocaine and could use the assistance of probation to break the cycle of crimes.
He said: “He is frank about the offence. He did not go looking for a fight but accepts it got too far out of hand.”
Judge Simon Phillips KC told them: “It was an ugly, violent incident that was wholly avoidable and entirely inappropriate, and brought about by drunken, loutish, violent behaviour. “
He gave Hirst 24 months’ jail, suspended for 24 months, with 20 rehabilitation day and 200 hours of unpaid work. He was told to pay each victim £550 compensation.
Ingham was handed 21 months’ jail, suspended for 24 months, ordered to enrol on the Better Choices programme, complete 15 days with probation and a 120-day alcohol treatment requirement.
He was also to pay £450 to each of the victims.