Two jailed for vicious assault on father and son in Congleton

Two people have been jailed for their part in a vicious assault on a father and son in Congleton.

The pair appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 9 August to be sentenced.

Liam Doolan, 18, of St Johns Road, Biddulph was sentenced to two years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to section 18 assault and section 47 assault.

A 17-year-old from Congleton, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to two years and three months after admitting to the section 18 assault of the 51-year-old man.

Both have also been handed 5-year Restraining Orders.

On Saturday 12 February 2022 the victims, now aged 19 and 52, went into Congleton Town Centre to confront a group of youths about an assault on a younger family member earlier on in the evening.

When they located the teenagers, the group were verbally aggressive toward them. As father and son walked off the teenagers followed them and continued to shout abuse as they walked through the town centre.

When they tried to get into a taxi, the group prevented them from leaving and the pair were then assaulted. They were punched and kicked to the floor, and while the then 51-year-old victim was trying to get back up, he was kicked to the face by Doolan. The 51-year-old victim sustained significant facial injuries which required surgery. The then 17-year-old victim sustained cuts and bruises to his face.

Enquiries led detectives to four teenagers - Doolan, a 15-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl and the 17-year-old.

DC James Atherton said:

“Doolan originally refused to answer any questions in interview, but mobile phone footage led to inquiries which put him at the scene. Further Snapchat messages also incriminated Doolan as well as witness evidence. Despite his refusal to cooperate, the net closed in even further when the blood on Doolan’s shoe came back as matching the victim’s DNA. The evidence was overwhelming, and he had no option but to admit the offences along with the other three teenagers.”

The 15-year-old boy from Macclesfleild and the 15-year-old girl from Congleton appeared at Crewe Magistrates back in March and pleaded guilty to section 47 actual bodily harm.

The two teenagers were handed a 10-month referral order and ordered to pay £100 victim compensation each.

DC James Atherton said:

“At the time, this outburst of violence on a father and son in a busy town centre shocked us all and caused concern among the community. I’d like to reassure residents that Congleton is a safe place to live, work and visit and that we have a no tolerance approach to violence and anti-social behaviour. We work closely with our local policing officers and PCSOs, and the local authority, to tackle anti-social behaviour, prevent offending and re-direct behaviour.

“I hope this successful prosecution sends a message to anyone who commits violent crime in our town that we will find you and we will bring you to justice – the same goes for anti-social behaviour. If you see it, report it - we will act.”