Lout jailed after being traced on Facebook

A drunken "lout" was jailed for a brutal Black Country street attack after the victim's sister decided to turn detective on social networking website Facebook.

Greg Beddows had a cheekbone fractured and was left lying unconscious in the gutter after being savagely kicked, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Gareth Collins took a run up before driving his right foot into the face of the helpless 24-year-old who could not get out of the way after fracturing his right knee during a confrontation between the two.

The 23-year-old attacker, who had dyed blond hair, ran off following the attack, which took place in Stourbridge High Street, the court heard.

But Samantha Beddows, the 21-year-old sister of the injured man, was soon on his trail through internet social networking sites.

Miss Beddows did not know his name but spent hours combing through Facebook accounts before finally identifying him.

She then checked his profile and discovered he had posted a comment boasting about the incident which read: "Ha, ha. Sick ain't I?"

Police arrested Collins, of Bridgnorth Road, Stourbridge two days after the attack of January 8.

He had just lost his job in a gym and had drunk six pints before going to a fast food outlet where Beddows was, said prosecutor Warren Stanier.

"Banter" between the pair soon turned ugly and Mr Beddows followed Collins in to the street where he fell after stripping off his shirt and rushing up to the other man, continued the prosecutor.

Collins took advantage of the situation to run up and kick the stricken victim, the court was told. Collins, who had a previous conviction for assaulting a taxi driver, pleaded guilty to wounding and was jailed for two years eight months by Judge Amjad Nawaz who branded him a drunken lout.