TWO Darwen men have been sent to youth custody after chasing a man from a public house and beating him up in a garden where he was hiding.

Carl Hibbert and Kevin Clough, both 20, attacked Shaun Taylor in April, 1998, while he was enjoying an evening out with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Mr Taylor, 20, was warned by a friend that there would be trouble during the night as he made his way to the public house.

Mark Lamberty, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said he had left the pub and was followed by a group of youths, including the two defendants.

He ran across a road and eventually jumped over a garden wall to try and hide from the group. "The others came through the garden gate and the incident began," said Mr Lamberty.

Mr Taylor was punched and kicked while on the floor and suffered injuries to his face, shoulders and waist.

Both men admitted affray.

Hibbert, of Kirkdale Close, Darwen, a plasterer by trade, was described as a "hard working young man."

Kath Johnson, defending, said: "He accepts that the complainant was cornered in a back yard."

She stated that Hibbert admitted he punched Taylor during the attack.

Mark Stuart, defending Clough, said his client had just joined in and wasn't really involved in the fight.

Clough, of Entwistle Street, Darwen, only knew of a disagreement when his friend told Taylor: "You better watch out, you are going to get killed."

"He should have played no part - it wasn't his argument," said Mr Stuart.

Judge Peter Openshaw, QC, sentenced both to six months in a young offenders institution.

He said: "You waited for the man and then chased him from the public house."

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