JAILED: Drunken man who killed victim with single punch

Malcolm Marsh hit 57-year-old Gordon Drew without warning as he went to leave the pub. Mr Drew fell to the floor, fracturing his skull and suffering fatal brain injuries. He died three weeks later in hospital.

Stafford Crown Court heard Marsh's motive for the unprovoked attack was "unsubstantiated gossip" that Mr Drew had supplied "bad drugs" and was responsible for the death of the defendant's brother Clint.

Marsh, 47, of Johnston Road in Dawley, Telford, was yesterday jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting a charge of manslaughter.

The court was told Marsh had drunk up to a dozen pints of Guinness on the night he attacked Mr Drew as he left the Crown pub in Dawley on October 25 last year.

Mr Hugh O'Brien-Quinn, prosecuting, said: "Shortly after 9pm the defendant and his friends decided to leave and as he did so he walked past Mr Drew at the bar. Nothing was said, the defendant turned and punched him squarely in the face.

"He landed on the floor of the public house, making no attempt to break his fall. The defendant was seen to raise his arms and walk out of the pub."

Mr Drew appeared to have a broken nose. He was also bleeding from the back of his head and never regained consciousness, the court was told.

When paramedics arrived Mr Drew was in a state of cardiac arrest and he was taken to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital. His lungs were full of blood, he had a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain. He died in the intensive care unit on 15 November when his life support system was switched off.

Police arrested Marsh just after midnight, still drinking in another pub.

A victim impact statement from Mr Drew's daughter, Kerry, was presented to the judge with a request that it not be read out. Mr O'Brien-Quinn said it spoke of the "great personal loss" the whole family felt.

Mr Jonathan Challinor, for Marsh, said Clint Marsh had died from "bad drugs doing the rounds in Dawley" and there was a suggestion that Mr Drew was involved.

"I don't put that forward as a proposition of fact, but the defendant came to believe this proposition and believe it genuinely, despite at first being sceptical. On October 25 the defendant was still very much in mourning.

"This was not gratuitous violence, violence for it's own sake. It was spur of the moment retribution."

Judge Paul Glenn told Marsh: "Gordon Drew had been in the Crown before you got there – he was causing no problems, drinking with friends and playing dominoes, minding his own business. You attacked him as you

were leaving the pub. The barman said you had just decided to hit him.

"You held both your arms in the air like a victorious boxer before running from the pub.

"On the strength of unsubstantiated gossip you held him responsible for the death of your brother. You accept you shouldn't have taken the word of others.

"Courts simply cannot condone totally unprovoked attacks like this. you decided he was responsible for your brother's death. You simply took unsubstantiated rumours to – in your own words – send out a message."