A MAN who banged the heads of two Turkish visitors together in a nightclub after alleged racial abuse was yesterday cleared of racially aggravated violence.
But Darren Coulson, 31, was convicted by the jury at York Crown Court, of injuring the men in an unprovoked attack.
Coulson, of Queen Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 21 months. He denied offences of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily hard on Alper Tekin and racial common assault on Yustafa Ozturk in Laughton's nightclub, in Whitby, last August
Richard Mansell, prosecuting, claimed Coulson approached the two men on the dance floor and racially abused them before taking hold of their heads and banging them together.
Mr Tekin received a cut to his eyebrow, which required hospital treatment, and Mr Ozturk was bruised.
After the attack Coulson left the club, but two doormen caught up with him and held him until police could arrive.
Coulson maintained they had got the wrong man and denied he had been to the club although Mr Mansell said witnesses recognised him.
Coulson did not give evidence and shortly after retiring to consider their verdict the jury returned with a question.
They wanted to know if they could separate the racial element from the head banging and were told by Judge Paul Hoffman they could.
Within minutes the jury returned their not guilty verdicts to racially aggravated assaults, but found Coulson guilty of the two lesser assault charges.
After hearing Coulson had 30 previous convictions, several for assault and violence, Judge Hoffman told him: "You came along and in a completely unprovoked attack banged their heads together causing injury."
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