JAILED: Father of one-punch killer lied to police to protect son

Karl Swift died in hospital after being punched by his colleague Dean Hartley Jr in Halesowen town centre following an argument about football.

Dean Hartley Sr had been drinking with the pair and three other colleagues at the William Shenstone pub on the night of the attack.

In his police statement Hartley Sr said he and his son had simply come across Mr Swift in New Road and that he must have fallen.

But CCTV footage, accounts given by witnesses and pathological evidence ultimately rubbished the account given by Harley Sr and which was repeated by Hartley Jr and another man present, Lee Ardron.

Hartley Sr, aged 52 and Ardron, 30, both admitted intending to pervert the course of justice and on Friday were jailed for eight months and six months respectively.

Hartley Jr, 30, was found guilty after trial of manslaughter in April and jailed for eight years and three months.

Judge James Burbidge QC said he had a "inkling" Hartley Sr and Ardron witnessed the punch which killed Mr Swift but could not be sure.

He added: "As a father trying to cover for his son, one can understand the difficulty you faced to a degree, but you of course should have told the truth.

"Ardron you joined in when you came to make your police statement.

"There must have been some discussion as you all ran the same line to the police.

"Committing the offence of perverting the course of justice undermines the process of justice. That was your intention - to seek to avoid justice on Hartley Jr."

Mr Swift, 33, died two days after being punched on September 8 last year.

The earlier trial heard he was hit with such force he was knocked unconscious before hitting his head on the ground.

The six colleagues, who had all travelled down to the Black Country from Yorkshire for work, were thrown out of the William Shenstone pub on Queensway after Hartley Jr's uncle struck Mr Swift with the back of his hand.

Mr Swift left on his own minutes before the others but was set upon before he reached the Travelodge where they were all staying.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the false account resulted in police investigating the possibility of Mr Swift dying by accident and contributed to the arrest of another member of the group who may or may not have been otherwise.

Miss Anne-Marie Hutton, defending Hartley Sr, said the lie was told "in the heat of the moment" and was ill-thought-out.

She added: "Ultimately it was born out of a misguided sense of seeking to protect his son from the reality of what in fact occurred."

Mr Chris Aspinall, defending Ardron, said his client was "stuck between a rock and a hard place" and had not believed Hartley Jr, of Burnaby Crescent, Sheffield, had intended to cause any real damage.

Hartley Sr, of Chaucer Road, Sheffield, was given a longer sentence than Ardron, of Broad Inge Crescent, Sheffield, as he also gave false details during a 999 call to the ambulance service, which Judge Burbidge said aggravated his offence.