Tipton ex-boxer jailed for killing man in pub fight
A former professional boxer was today jailed for eight years after being found guilty of killing a father during a pub fight in West Bromwich.
A jury convicted Peter Nightingale of the manslaughter of father-of-eight Darren Jones at Greets Green Social Club, but acquitted him of a charge of murder.
Nightingale, aged 43, showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.
But the news was greeted by cheers from family members outside the courtroom, who had been unable to get a seat in the packed public gallery.
During the two-week trial, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that trouble at Greets Green Social Club flared at around 8pm on February 26.
Around 50 pubgoers saw two fights just minutes apart between Nightingale and Mr Jones in the lounge of the pub in Whitehall Road during a disco.
The prosecution said Nightingale used his "considerable skills" as a former professional fighter during the fights with Mr Jones.
The court heard how the ex-boxer punched and kicked the victim repeatedly after he had fallen to the floor and lay unconscious.
The prosecution said he then took a taxi to The Tilted Barrel pub in Princes End to have a drink there.
But the defence insisted it was 42-year-old Mr Jones who hit Nightingale first and said only one of the defendant's punches connected. The court heard how after returning to his home in South Road, Tipton, Nightingale washed his trousers to hide evidence because he was scared.
Speaking after the hearing yesterday, Mr Jones's family paid tribute to him.
They said: "Darren's death has left our family devastated beyond words.
"Children have been robbed of a loving father and grandfather and their lives will never be the same."
By David Lumb
