Couple used pram carrying baby as a battering ram after trouble flared

Alexander Murphy repeatedly pushed the buggy into the legs of a group of teenage boys, while his partner, Chantelle Pratley, smashed a can into the face of one of them, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The drunk pair were walking with three friends when they encountered the youths near the King George V Memorial playing fields where the 14 to 16 year-olds had just finished a kick about.

Pratley, aged 25, asked one for a cigarette and became surly and aggressive when it was explained that they didn't smoke, said Mr Walter Bealby, prosecuting. Murphy, 26, drove the pram into the ankles of the group so hard the baby was almost thrown onto the Tarmac.

The defendants feared police were about to be called when one youth produced a mobile phone.

"Pratley ran up behind a youth and smashed a beer can into his face, cutting the bridge of his nose," said Mr Bealby.

"Pratley's friends jumped on the band wagon with punches and kicks delivered in all directions. Murphy pushed the pram at full tilt into people before abandoning it at the mouth of a junction."

One of the three men involved pulled a knife from his waistband, but was so drunk he dropped the weapon on the ground and the attackers dispersed at about 9pm on September 9, 2014.

Pratley, of Walnut Close, Bilston, pleaded guilty to affray and assault and was given a 14 month jail term suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work.

Murphy, of Wordsworth Road, Willenhall, admitted affray and received a 13 and a half month sentence similarly suspended with the same unpaid work.