Brighton man admits assault on Frenchmen (From The Argus)

Brighton man admits assault on Frenchmen

6:30pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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A gang of teenagers attacked two French visitors in the street.

They tried to get them to buy a can of lager for £5 before following the frightened victims and violently assaulting them.

At Brighton Magistrates’ Court one of the gang, Reece Heath, 18, admitted two offences of common assault.

District Judge Graham Parsons adjourned sentence and warned Heath he could face time in a young offenders’ institution.

He said: “Custody is a more likely sentence than not.”

Heath, of Bodiam Close, Brighton, who was 17 at the time of the offence, was bailed until April 1.

Sonia Flijani, prosecuting, told the court trouble flared on the night of August 15 last year when the two Frenchmen were approached by five local men, including the defendant, as they walked near the Royal Pavilion Gardens.

She said they tried to sell the visitors the lager and, when they refused to buy it, the gang followed them along London Road.

Near Preston Circus the gang started to get violent and attacked the Frenchmen, kicking and punching them as they lay curled up and bleeding on the pavement.

A co-defendant will be dealt with at a later date.