Three years for factory worker who killed Newton Aycliffe grandfather

Michael Kelly was told he had brought “overwhelming grief” to the family of much-loved Clifford Palmer by his actions in last September.

Mr Palmer was punched in the side of the head as he looked for a taxi after leaving a pub in the town centre of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The blow caused a tiny tear in a blood vessel at the base of his brain, and the 73-year-old died in hospital the following day from a haemorrhage.

Kelly, 21, of Mackenzie Place, Newton Aycliffe, denied manslaughter, but was found guilty at the end of a trial at Teesside Crown Court last month.

He claimed he was so drunk he could not remember assaulting the self-employed roofer, and insisted he would never do such a thing.

Kelly told the jury that he may have brushed past Mr Palmer and caused him to fall, but witnesses spoke of seeing him land a blow to the victim.

Mr Justice Walker told him today: “This was not merely a thoughtless accident . . . it was a mindless piece of gratuitous violence.”

He added: “Mr Palmer lost his life entirely needlessly. No-one could possibly suggest that he was in any way to blame.

“His family have lost his love and support. Their grief is, understandably, overwhelming.”

The court heard during the trial that Kelly went out drinking with friends on September 5 last year to celebrate him being promoted at work.

He was said to have been angry that he had argued with his fiancée, and struck Mr Palmer as he walked home in the early hours.

Tony Davis, mitigating, insisted Kelly was “not full of hell” and intent on violence, and said he maintained he had no memory of the fateful moment.

He added: “While he has had to come to terms with the jury’s verdict, he still finds it extremely difficult to acknowledge that it was he who is responsible for Mr Palmer’s death.

“That is something that, plainly, he will have to live with for the rest of his life.”

*Full story in The Northern Echo tomorrow.