A GANG of young robbers on a crime spree left a former Tyneside man to drown when they pushed him into a canal.

Simon Brass, 40, who had moved to Salford, Greater Manchester was heard to twice shout "I can't swim" but three of his five assailants calmly walked away and one later explained he did not help because "I wasn't getting wet".

Their victim was targeted in a known spot for cruising around the towpaths near to Manchester's gay village.

Manchester Crown Court heard the dark, dangerous surrounding underpasses were frequented by gay men who looked for casual sexual encounters and who in turn were preyed upon by robbers who were aware their victims would be unlikely to complain to the police.

Earlier in the night another victim had been robbed and a good Samaritan who came to his aid was pushed in the canal before the group turned their attention to Mr Brass.

Sentencing, Judge Clement Goldstone QC said: "Simon Brass was pushed into the canal when efforts to rob him proved unsuccessful and who you left to die, knowing he could not swim.

"This was not wanton hooliganism or a prank gone wrong. He was the intended victim of a robbery."

The body of Mr Brass, who was originally from the Newcastle area, was recovered four days later from the canal.

Paul Creedy, 20, Kieron Murray, 22, Jack Smith, 19, Leah Garner, 21, and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at earlier hearings.

All had varying roles in a series of four robberies that took place on the towpath of the Rochdale Canal in the early hours of June 5 last year, said prosecutor Mark Kellet.

Creedy and Murray approached the first victim at about 1.10am and pretended to be police officers looking for drugs as they searched his pockets and took a packet of cigarettes.

Three men came to his assistance, but Creedy and Murray turned on two of them.

They repeatedly stamped on the head of one and pushed the other into the canal.

Creedy attempted to kick one of the Samaritans' hands from the edge of the bank as he struggled to get out before the other defendants joined up in pursuing him on foot where eventually the man fell to the floor and was kicked unconscious.

The five defendants left the scene, but returned about 90 minutes later where they came across Mr Brass.

Mr Kellet said: "Exactly what happened that led to the death of Simon Brass is not clear. However, the Crown says that it can be properly inferred that he was thrown or pushed into the canal.

"When Simon Brasss body was recovered his iPhone was found in his sock. He was clearly alert to the fact that men looking for sexual encounters at the canal locks are frequently robbed of their mobile telephones.

"The fact that he had hidden his phone clearly frustrated the five defendants in their attempt to rob him."

Barely two minutes later along the towpath, another man was robbed of his mobile phone by Creedy, Murray and the 15-year-old.

They were arrested shortly after when attempts were made to sell the phone in two nearby takeaways.

Following those arrests, CCTV footage was studied which led to the arrests of Garner and Smith Creedy, of Heathcote Road, Gorton, and Murray, of Eastern Bypass, Openshaw, each received ten-year sentences and will be on extended licence for three years on release.

Garner, of Moston, was also jailed for ten years and Smith, from Openshaw, will serve nine years in a Young Offenders Institute.

The youth was detained for five years and eight months.

Judge Goldstone commented that Smith's comment to a friend about not getting wet "was callous in the extreme".

In a statement issued after sentencing, Detective Sergeant Derek Houston said: "Mr Brass' life was tragically cut short when this group decided he was the perfect target for a robbery. Not at one point did they consider his safety having failed to steal anything from him they pushed him into the canal and the actions they took were reckless.

"Mr Brass' family have been left with a gap in their lives that will never be filled. They will have to live with the fact that their time together was cut drastically short thanks to the selfish act of five callous individuals.

"This has been a painstaking investigation that involved over 1,000 hours of CCTV being studied from over 100 cameras and the smallest of details being analysed.

"I hope Mr Brass' family and friends can take some comfort knowing that the people responsible for his untimely death are now being punished for what they did."

Members of the victims family attended today's sentencing.

In a victim impact statement read out in the court they said they had all suffered from this tragedy.

Both the health of Mr Brass' father, Richard, and stepmother, Hilda, had deteriorated since his death, the court heard.

It continued: "As a family we are all very close. Simon was a vital link. He regularly returned home for family events and holidays."