Ear-biting railway attacker jailed ‘to protect public’

Feb 19 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Daily Post

A DRUNKEN thug who punched and spat on an innocent train passenger, simply to “have fun at his expense”, has been jailed for 2½ years.

Within minutes of getting on a train from Southport to Liverpool, cyclist Julian Darcy-Gray was confronted by Andrew Robins and another youth.

The 21-year-old was abusive and aggressive – demanding cigarettes and money.

And, even though Mr Darcy-Gray gave into his demands for cigarettes and even offered him beer, Robins attacked him.

Judge Brian Lewis said: “Mr Darcy-Gray wasn’t a wealthy man, he stood up to show you how much money he had in his pockets. As he did so he was attacked, he was punched. You and he went to the floor. You got off the train briefly after, and you were spitting at him.

“It was disgusting behaviour.”

During the attack by the two men, Mr Darcy-Gray also had part of his ear bitten off. As they left the train, they also stamped on his bike, laughing as they broke it.

Liverpool Crown Court yesterday heard at the time of the attack, just after 10pm on September 13 last year, Robins had been serving a suspended prison sentence for a similar attack involving “violence and provocative behaviour”.

Judge Lewis said only a lengthy custodial sentence was appropriate, adding the public needed to be reassured they would be protected from attacks on public transport.