Magistrates tells youngsters involved in Chatteris brawl they can expect to spend Christmas locked up

TWO teenagers involved in a street brawl in Chatteris town centre will be sending Christmas in jail, after magistrates gave them a 12 week custodial sentence.

The incident was caught on CCTV - and Fenland magistrates watched the footage before sending 19-year-old Shane Richards and 18-year-old Daniel Robertson to a young offender’s institution.

“The fact that you did not start the violence makes no difference, there were punches and kicks, and a bottle was thrown that could have killed someone,” said presiding magistrate Jane Melloy.

Richards, 19, of Wimpole Street, Chatteris; and Robertson, 18, of High Street, Chatteris, had both admitted affray. Both had a previous conviction for a similar offence.

The fight occurred around 2am on September 18, the court was told. During the incident, Richards had tripped up a man, and then kicked his victim on the floor. He also threw a bottle or glass.

Robertson become involved later, he punched the same victim in the head while he was on the floor.

Mitigating, Nen Spasojevic unsuccessfully pleaded with the magistrates to give the teenagers a suspended jail sentence rather than immediate custody.

“The offence was born out of drink and acting as a group,” he said. “They were not the initiators of the violence; Richards had tried to calm the dispute, but he went too far.

“They were two young men who came upon a scene of violence and both decided to contribute; but they were not the instigators.”