Police chief condemns drinking culture after gang batters to death father-of-two

The four - one woman and three men, who are all under 25 - battered Andrew Ayres, 50, to death using a mace, a knuckleduster and CS spray as he tried to take a cab home from a friend's birthday party.

Det Supt Paul Kennedy, who investigated the case, blamed drink for turning the group of casual acquaintances into brutal, vicious killers and urged other young people to avoid the perils of excessive drinking.

Laura Mitchell, 22, her boyfriend Michael Hall, 24, both of Bottomley Street, Buttershaw, Bradford, and Henry Ballantyne, 20, of Springwood Avenue, Shipley, were found guilty of murder and violent disorder.

A third man, Carl Holmes, 21, of Bonwick Mall, Buttershaw, had already pleaded guilty of killing Mr Ayres, of Queensbury, near Bradford, before the trial at Bradford Crown Court. A fifth defendant, Jason Fawthorp, 25, was acquitted.

After the verdicts, DS Kennedy said: "An absolutely horrific and completely unwarranted level of violence was used against Andrew Ayres and ultimately caused his death.

"It was a brutal and sustained attack, in which weapons were used, and it continued while he was on the ground and in no position to defend himself.

"He was a completely innocent victim who had been out celebrating a friend's birthday. Neither he nor the friends he was with could have predicted that an argument over a taxi could have turned so quickly into such a vicious attack."

He continued: "Those responsible for his murder behaved like absolute animals and there can be no justification for what they did.

"We hope that this case will remind others how seriously such acts of mindless violence will be treated by the police and the courts."

The officer later added that the murder had not only appalled police and Mr Ayres' family but that it was also a tragedy for the families of the four young killers.

He said they were not part of a gang culture, but that drink had led them to quickly gang up and use extreme violence.

He said: "Before this tragedy you would not have thought that these four young people would have been capable of this level of violence.

"They had some convictions but were not out and out criminals. Some were from a working background and they were not people you would normally associate with such criminality.

"They were known to each other but were not close friends or a collective group, but drink and violence can change people very quickly and in a short time that night they had formed a gang."

DS Kennedy urged young people to "look and learn" from the case, saying: "You cannot use weapons without someone being seriously injured and they are capable of killing somebody.

"Drink is part of our culture and is not against the law, but we should never be relaxed about it. People need to know that when they drink to excess they may be prone to violence.

"As members of the community, and family members, we have got to say that we cannot tolerate any sort of behaviour linked to weapons. Drink is no defence to violence and those who use violence in drink will face the full weight of the law."

Det Supt Kennedy said the devastated family and friends of Mr Ayres had been through a terrible ordeal.

"They are appalled, as we are, by the level of mindless violence that led to his death," he said.

"Above and beyond anything else, our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Mr Ayres. But we also have four young people convicted of murder and sent to prison - that is sad in itself and devastating for their family and friends.

"A good man has lost his life. He was not a troublemaker, but was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were shocked by the scale and level of violence used.

"It was unwarranted and there was no explanation or reason for it."

Dean Powell, a friend of Mr Ayres who was also brutally attacked in the same fight, said the 50-year-old father of two daugthers had been so badly beaten that he couldn't recognise him.

When the verdicts were announced in court, it erupted into chaos and Michell wailed and sobbed as she swayed in the dock.

The court had heard how she was the first to become violent on the night of January 28, but was soon backed by her male companions.

They chased Mr Ayres, known to his friends as Ted, around the pub carpark, eventually knocking him to the ground and beginning their horrific onslaught.

Forensic pathologist, Professor Peter Vanezis confirmed that the death-blow came principally from his face being stamped on after he made attempts to get up but was hit back to the floor.

He died from multiple facial and upper neck injuries. His cheekbones were so severely fractured that they had fragmented. His nose was broken, he had two black eyes, multiple lacerations to his lips and a broken jaw. His larynx was also damaged and he had inhaled blood into his lungs.

Hall, Mitchell and Ballantyne were remanded in custody by The Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick on Tuesday.

He will sentence them and Holmes - who is also in custody - when probation reports have been completed.