Sunderland man jailed over his role in violent disorder which saw a friend glass a man in a pub

Sunderland man Lee Alderson, 40, who was involved in the incident at The Three Tuns pub in Thirsk.

Lee Alderson, 40, and his friend Lee Morris, 35, arrived at The Three Tuns pub in Thirsk after a drinking session and soon began causing trouble, York Crown Court heard.

Morris was the main aggressor and ended up glassing a male pub-goer in the head, said prosecutor Stephanie Hancock.

“Lee Morris was aggressive immediately and described by witnesses as spoiling for a fight,” added the barrister.

Lee Morris, 35, who was involved in the incident at The Three Tuns pub in Thirsk.

The violence began when Morris pushed the victim over just for making a “quip, a silly joke”.

“As both men fell, Lee Morris armed himself with a glass, thought to be a wine bottle from a table nearby,” said Ms Hancock.

Morris struck the man on the head with the bottle, he suffered a non-life-threatening injury to the back of his head.

However, the exact nature of the injury was still unclear because the victim declined to make a police statement.

“There were certainly some clearly-unpleasant words and abuse uttered by Lee Morris in particular,” added Ms Hancock.

Witnesses said Morris, of Market Place, Thirsk, was shouting: “I’m going to bray you all!”

The shift manager tried to usher Morris and Alderson out of the pub, but as he did so, Alderson aimed a foul-mouthed volley of abuse at him and threatened a barman, saying he was “going to bray (him)”.

“As the men were eventually bundled out, Morris kicked out and smashed a pane in the door on the way out,” said Ms Hancock.

Both men were arrested and in police interview the following morning said they had little recollection of the incident on February 10 but that they were “very sorry”.

They admitted affray and Morris was also admitted damaging the pub door.

The court heard that Morris and Alderson - of Maria Street, Sunderland - had been on a pub crawl in Thirsk before violence flared at about 11pm. They were both “heavily in drink” and one of them admitted drinking between 10 and 15 pints.

Defence barrister Helen Towers said both men had acted out of character and had no previous convictions for violence.

But judge Sean Morris said Lee Morris was lucky not to have been charged with a more serious offence and jailed him for 10 months.

Alderson was jailed for eight months.