A furious dad asked ‘pretty much anyone’ for a fight before attacking a passer-by and leaving him with a broken nose. Paul Gresty, 45, could be heard screaming and shouting by his next-door neighbour whilst smashing up items within his flat.
Around 30 minutes later, on July 26 of last year, he was heard shouting at one of his upstairs neighbours telling him to ‘stay out of his business’, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. He then began asking ‘pretty much anyone for a fight’, John Richards, prosecuting said.
Gresty, of Oldham, continued asking around for a fight, before the victim walked past and ‘foolishly’ accepted his offer.
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“The defendant, upon hearing that, ran downstairs and hit the victim in the face and knocked him to the floor before kicking him to his shoulder area,” Mr Richards said. “The defendant's son then pulled him away.”
A female neighbour, who had witnessed the commotion, came outside and performed CPR on the man. He was left with a broken nose and bruising and injuries to his ribs, the court heard.
He has fortunately not been left with long term damage, the prosecutor added. In mobile phone footage played to the court, Gresty could be seen kicking a man who was lying on the floor, before a younger man pushed him back.
Gresty was said to have 11 previous convictions for 15 offences, including three offences of battery, one of which dated back to 2015.
Judge Paul Lawton, in discussion with Gresty’s barrister, Benjamin Knight, said this was a ‘serious case of this type’, but stated he would not send him back to prison as he had already served four months on remand.
“If he is serious about seeing his children, the court will give him the opportunity to prove himself,” he said. Mr Knight agreed with the judge’s suggestion of imposing a community order.
Sentencing him, Judge Lawton said Gresty had become ‘enraged’ after coming across one of his neighbours using drugs and causing an ‘affray’ inside and outside of the block of flat. “This culminated in you challenging anyone for a fight, foolishly the victim in the case accepted your offer,” he said.
“This is very much in your hands now.”
Gresty, of Leamington Street, was handed a 12 month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements after he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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