A man has been jailed today (November 5) for a horrific attack on a college lecturer on the streets of Harrogate.

The victim was punched, kicked and had his head stamped on, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull.

Keiran Oldroyd, 24, launched the frenzied, drink-fuelled attack alongside Dylan Allport, 23, and Mohammed Ali, 29. 

The three men walked away from the scene “laughing” as the victim was lying on the ground with potentially life-threatening injuries, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Fen Greatley-Hirsch said the three men had set upon the victim and his friend in a “drunken pack” on Montpellier Street.

CCTV cameras captured the horrendous, late-night scenes near Montey’s cocktail bar on October 23, 2023, when the victims were punched and kicked in the head after being knocked to the ground.

The two victims and the attackers were not known to each other and the motive, if any, for the attack, was unknown. 

Mr Greatley-Hirsch said the horrifying scenes unfolded at about 11.30pm when CCTV showed Oldroyd and Allport leaving Montey’s just before the victims went into the bar.

About a minute later, Ali and the two victims left the bar and walked out into Montpellier Street, where one of the victims was suddenly surrounded by Oldroyd, Allport and Ali.

Mr Greatley-Hirsch said:

Kicked on the ground

The victim’s friend went to his aid but was pushed away by Oldroyd who continued to kick and shout at the stricken man lying helpless on the ground.

His friend was then pushed to the ground by Allport and kicked by Oldroyd. The three attackers then walked away towards Montey’s Bar but as the victims tried to get back up, Oldroyd and Ali walked back towards them.

Oldroyd, the son of a police worker, threw a punch at the victim who ran away with his friend. They were chased down the street by Allport who was “swinging his arms at them from behind”, causing them to fall to the ground again.

Oldroyd caught up with them and kicked the victim while he was defenceless on the ground. He then threw the victim’s friend’s phone to the ground and stamped on it, causing irreparable damage.

The friend was then pushed to the ground again and kicked by Allport and Oldroyd who then went back to the victim and struck him in the head again.

CCTV footage then showed the three attackers “laughing” as they walked from the scene.

Mr Greatley-Hirsch said that CCTV operators alerted police to the violence and officers went to the scene.

Chased by police

Oldroyd ran off as officers tried to arrest him. During a foot chase, Oldroyd fell and collided with an officer’s head, causing bleeding.

Oldroyd and Allport were ultimately arrested on the night. Ali was arrested two weeks later after police put out a media appeal asking the public for information about his whereabouts. 

Ali was identified by a man who worked at Mojo bar in Parliament Street who had seen the defendant and the two victims inside the bar earlier that night and said there had been “some issues” between them.

The court heard that just before the violence on Montpellier Street, Ali had asked the two victims to apologise to him. Then, “out of nowhere”, Oldroyd appeared and “sweeps the victims to the floor”.

The victim was taken to hospital and initially discharged himself before being seen by medical staff but then returned to A&E complaining of “strange sensations” and problems with his hearing.

He had extensive bruising and tinnitus and a scan revealed he had suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding.

His friend suffered a large bruise to his elbow and minor head injuries. He left hospital before being seen by medical staff.

Fragments of skull

Oldroyd, formerly of Pickering Gardens, Harrogate, but lately of no fixed abode, was charged with wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent and admitted the offence. He also admitted causing actual bodily harm to the victim’s friend and assaulting a police officer.

Allport, of Diamond Place, Harrogate, admitted causing grievous bodily harm to the victim without intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm to the victim’s friend and damaging his phone.

Ali, of Market Street, Ullapool, Scotland, admitted causing grievous bodily harm to the victim without intent.

They appeared for sentence today when the prosecution read out statements from the two victims.

The named man who suffered the fractured skull said he became “increasingly unwell” following the attack. He had three hospital appointments in the days after the attack when a scan revealed he had “fragments of my skull floating close to my brain”.

The father-of-one, a college lecturer, said he had had to cancel lectures due to his severe injuries.

Fearing he may go deaf, he had three hearing tests on the ear which was constantly ringing after being struck during the attack.

He added: 

The victim, who now suffered with memory problems, said he felt “lucky I was not more seriously hurt or killed”.

Pondering the sheer savagery of the attack, he said: “I cannot understand why anyone can feel such hate".

The second victim, described as an “innocent hero”, said he had since suffered physical and mental trauma.

He said the attack had “nearly cost the life of my best friend” and that if he hadn’t intervened, his friend could now be dead.

'Completely unprovoked'

During the attack, which he said was “completely unprovoked”, he felt like he was “being punched and kicked in all directions” while lying on the ground.

He said that one of the men had “slapped” his phone out of his hand outside Sutcliffe Galleries in Montpellier Street and he had to buy a new one for £500.

He had since been seeing a chiropractor for neck pain and had suffered from tinnitus and “severe mental distress”.

He said his friend was now socially reclusive.

Mr Greatley-Hirsch said that Oldroyd had a previous conviction for violence and at the time of the Harrogate incident he was on a community order for battery. Ali and Allport had never been in trouble before.

Barrister Harry Crowson, for Allport, said that his client, a working man, was “simply appalled by the way he behaved that night”.

Opened a café

David Ward, for Oldroyd, conceded that his client was at the forefront of a “drunken pack” during the “very unsavoury” incident.

He said that Oldroyd was in an emotional state at the time following the suicide of his friend and business partner with whom he had opened a café.

He said that the senior chef and assistant manager at his last workplace described Oldroyd as a hard worker who was highly thought of. However, due to these offences, Oldroyd had lost that job and his home and had been sofa-surfing.

Neil Cutte, for Ali, said that his client, also a working man, was genuinely remorseful and his participation in the egregious violence was “an aberration in an otherwise pro-social, law-abiding life”.

Recorder Patrick Palmer condemned the three men for the shocking violence which left one of the victims with not only a fractured skull, but also “bits of bone and bleeding in his head”.

Oldroyd, as the main perpetrator, was given a jail sentence of two years and nine months – a reduced sentence due to prison overcrowding. He will be released on prison licence halfway through that sentence.

The judge said he could suspend the inevitable jail sentences in the case of Ali and Allport because they had never troubled the courts before, were both working men and their behaviour was “out of character”.

They were each given 16-month jail sentences suspended for two years. In addition, they were each ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation-activity days.

They were each made to pay £500 compensation to the victim who suffered a fractured skull and £100 to his friend.