Two men hugged pensioner before leaving him unconscious in brutal attack

Two men hugged pensioner before leaving him unconscious in brutal attack A 66-year-old man says he no longer feels safe in Liverpool city centre and is considering moving away after a brutal late-night attack shattered his confidence Two men hugged a pensioner before launching a vicious attack which left him unconscious. Paul McCann, 66, said his confidence had been “shattered” by the assault and that he no longer felt safe entering Liverpool city centre and was considering moving away from Merseyside. Paul had been out drinking with friends on October 20, 2024, and was heading home alone about midnight when he encountered a homeless woman in a wheelchair, Cheryl Driver, and began speaking to her, the court heard. Prosecutor Simon Leong described how Michael Coyle and Keith White were both in her company at the time. CCTV footage captured White “hopping on one foot” before he approached Paul and hugged him. The retiree then pushed him away before “giving him a slight slap to the face”. Coyle then shoved Paul and punched him several times while White grappled with him. The pair then “swung him around” and left him lying on the floor. He was also briefly knocked unconscious after being kicked to the ground. After regaining consciousness, Paul ran to a nearby hotel, where staff called the police. He later went to hospital with pain and bruising to his ribs, which he suspected had been broken in the attack. But, he left before receiving treatment due to long waiting times and because he needed to return home to feed his dogs. In a statement read to the court on his behalf, Paul detailed how he had been left in “agonising pain” when frequently coughing due to his COPD. He added: “My confidence has been shattered. I no longer feel safe in the dark. I will not enter Liverpool city centre. I no longer feel safe in the city centre. “I’m saddened that this incident has affected me to the point I’m no longer able to do things that brought me joy. I’m hyper aware of my surroundings and of people hanging around on street corners. I feel old and question whether I can and should do some things. I’m no longer the carefree person I was. I’m hoping, in the future, I will be able get my confidence back. I’m considering moving to another part of the country.” Paul’s attackers were identified through CCTV footage of the incident. White had a total of 35 previous convictions for 50 offences, including robberies in Ireland in 2011 and 2013, a 28-month sentence for unlawful wounding in 2022 and an 18-month community order for burglary in January 2025. Paul Becker, defending, said: “He has been on remand for seven months. I am asking your honour to impose a sentence today that would effectively ensure that the defendant is time served for what is a serious offence of affray. “He is sorry for what he has done. He understands the harm he has caused. He has had the opportunity to reflect over the past seven months at HMP Liverpool, where the defendant has been working in the recycling centre and has been free of opiates. “They have plagued his life. They have led to a serious issue with his leg, which he tells me is going to be amputated when he is medically fit for that to take place. He does have accommodation open to him. He is very much hoping to be able to go there tonight. “The defendant comes from Ireland. He has a daughter, aged 19. He is hoping, on his release, that he can get medically well and can reunite with his family. He is a trained mechanic. “He is a different man when he is drug free. He tells me that he was rattled for some time, but he is now off the opiates. He is determined to stay off the opiates and move his life on. In my submission, the defendant has served sufficient time for his offending, for which he is truly sorry.” Coyle’s criminal record showed 16 convictions for 21 offences, including receiving 24 weeks for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage in May 2025. The 41-year-old’s counsel Lucy Moran told the court: “Your honour will note long standing struggles with substance misuse and lengthy periods of homelessness throughout his life. “He was, previously to his remand, at the YMCA. That accommodation is available upon his release. He was stabbed some three years ago. I invite your honour to conclude that this is a sentence that can properly be suspended with requirements which Mr Coyle is ready, willing and able to comply with.” Coyle and White both admitted affray on the day they were due to stand trial accused of robbery. No evidence was ultimately offered by the Crown in relation to this count, which 47-year-old Driver, of Fraser Street in the city centre, also previously faced. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, Coyle and White were jailed for six months each. Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb said: “In your case, White, to your credit, as a result of having been in custody for a period seven months or so, you are now free of your addiction to class A drugs. “Those drugs have caused issues with your leg, which mean that you are likely to lose your leg in the near future. You are now drug free, so you are totally different than you had been at the time of your remand in custody, and there is accommodation waiting for you. “So far as you, Coyle, are concerned, you have a history of substance misuse and problems attached to homelessness. It is clear that you have demonstrated remorse by the plea which you have entered. I have concluded that there are not grounds, in either case, for the sentence to be suspended.”