THE heartbroken family of a father-of-two killed in a 'one-punch' attack have have branded his attacker a 'coward'
Christopher Edminson knocked Eric Hunter 'out cold' when he attacked him outside The Lobby bar, Middlesbrough, in the early hours of the morning.
The 39-year-old died two days later in hospital after suffering a fractured skull.
In an emotional victim impact statement, his two sons, Jacob and Daniel, wrote of their heartbreaking loss.
They said: "This was a moment where the world changed for us; before that moment I was a happy, confident boy. Now I am angry, sad and scared. I'm angry at you because you took our daddy away from us forever.
"Last Christmas I asked Santa if he could bring our daddy back instead of giving us presents but he just said 'I'm sorry, Santa can't bring people back from heaven'.
"So we will never have another Christmas with him, you will have Christmases with your family, this makes me angry because it is not fair."
The young boys said the death of their father had completely changed the lives forever.
They added: "Remembering daddy hurts a lot and makes me cry. For the rest of our lives we are not going to see, speak or touch daddy again because of you."
Mr Hunter's sister, Natasha McEwan, said his death had torn through the family and their life 'will never be the same again'.
She said: "We will never get over the way he died – lying in a hospital bed with brain damage so severe that he would never wake up.
"We will never forgive you for what you did, you acted like a common thug. We will never forgive you after you left him lying in the street like a coward."
Edminson was sentenced to five years and three months after admitting manslaughter on the day his trial was due to start.
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