Richard Ashcroft fans brawled in hospitality box at First Direct Arena gig in Leeds

Three men were caught on camera attacking two rivals during a disturbance at a concert at the First Direct Arena.
The First Direct ArenaThe First Direct Arena
The First Direct Arena

Leeds Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of the incident in the corridor at the venue during a Richard Ashcroft gig.

Matthew Papworth, Andrew Smith and Christopher Terry pleaded guilty to affray over the incident in April 2017.

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The court heard trouble flared between the three defendants and two other men in a hospitality box.

Lydia Carroll, prosecuted, said it was accepted by the Crown that the two men and been behaving badly in the box shortly before violence erupted.

Papworth, of Celandine Avenue, Huddersfield, was caught on camera aiming two kicks at one of the men as he was “cowering” on the ground.

Smith, of Bray Close, Bradford, and Terry, of Upper Quarry Road, Huddersfield, could be seen chasing after the other man and “lashing out.”

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Recorder Daffyd Enoch told the defendants they had been intent on teaching the two men “a lesson”.

The court heard that none of the men have previous convictions and were of good character.

He told the men: “It is obvious that you all know that you messed up in a big way on this night.

“Drunken violence in public in any form is completely unacceptable. Group violence is particularly bad.

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“When you use your feet on somebody it has the potential to cause really serious injury.

“You were all part of an unpleasant incident in public in which people must have feared for their safety.”

All three defendants were given a six-month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work.

Richard Ashcroft was the lead singer of The Verve from 1990 until 1999.