A thug who beat a man who refused to give him a cigarette has been jailed.
Ian Shore, 22, repeatedly punched Huran Yalvac – minutes after his cousin Karl Martin racially abused the Turkish victim.
Shore, of Milnrow Road, Rochdale, is already serving a 20-week jail term after skipping bail following the incident.
He was ordered, at Manchester Crown court, to spend an additional ten months behind bars after admitting racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm.
Martin, 21, of York Street, Rochdale, admitted racially aggravated harassment for his part in the incident.
He was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £350 costs.
Bob Sastry, prosecuting, said Mr Yalvac had been on Drake Street, in the centre of Rochdale, at 1am on July 12, when he was approached by Martin and Shore.
After Shore barged into the victim, he and Martin demanded a cigarette. When the victim said he could not give him one, Martin said: "We’ll smash your face in if you don’t." Martin then swore at Mr Yalvac, subjecting him to racial abuse, before Shore punched him – continuing the attack after his victim fell to the ground.
Mr Yalvac was left badly bruised and the men were arrested at the scene.
Hiranya Narayan, defending Shore, said: "I am not intending to submit drink as an excuse, it is not – it is an explanation.
"He unusually was in drink that day. He has not abused alcohol since."
John Marsh, defending Martin, who has a previous conviction for racially abusing an Asian man, said he was also drunk after the pub crawl with Shore.
Mr Marsh said Martin’s background should influence him not to be racist – he had worked in Ghana and had a number of African friends.
Mr Marsh said: "He is very ashamed of his behaviour."
Sentencing the pair, Judge Andrew Blake said: "You both took part in what was a very unpleasant incident, it occurred because you were both drunk and you decided, for reasons best known to yourselves, to approach this man who you obviously thought was Asian.
"The request for a cigarette was simply an excuse to cause trouble."
Manchester Evening News
