Teen jailed for attacking man over pound coin

11:24am Wednesday 14th May 2008

A TEENAGER has been jailed for four years for brutally attacking a man following a row over a £1 coin.

Michael Hughes, aged 18, of Grangeway, Runcorn, pleaded guilty to stabbing and kicking Michael Boswell as he lay on the ground at Rhyl in September last year.

Mold Crown Court was told yesterday, Tuesday, how tension between two groups - including the pair - had intensified throughout the day after a drink-fuelled row over a £1 coin on a pool table.

The group containing Hughes, who had no previous convictions, was asked to leave the bar, but later tracked Mr Boswell down and attacked him.

The victim was stabbed in the hand and kicked in the head.

Mr Boswell needed surgery to repair tendons in his hand and suffered minor head injuries.

CCTV footage captured Hughes brandishing a knife.

Mr Recorder John Philpotts, presiding, said: "It seems that the incident was sparked by a dispute over the ownership of a £1 coin placed on the pool table to reserve the next game.

"Anyone witnessing this incident on the video would have been shocked by the fact that it is perfectly clear that a knife was used in this incident."

Mr Philpotts also warned of the dangers of knife attacks.

"Hardly a week goes by without a story in the news of some young man being fatally injured with a knife. That is how dangerous they are," he said.

Hughes' cousin Dean Hughes, of Rhyl, was also jailed for three years for attempting to inflict greivous bodily harm.