Dylan Dellot was sentenced to three years and 11 months for the attack on Patrick Gibbons on December 20 last year
Police scientific support pictured outside the Black Horse pub on County Road (Image: Liverpool Echo)
The mum of a young man knocked unconscious outside a pub faced his attacker in court and told him: “I ask this man experiences prison just as my beloved son is experiencing everyday.” Dylan Dellot, 37, was on drugs and had been drinking throughout the day without much sleep when he repeatedly punched Patrick Gibbons to the head, knocking him unconscious, outside the Black Horse pub shortly before Christmas last year.
Dylan Dellot was sentenced to three years and 11 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for the sickening assault which has left Mr Gibbons with a severe long-term disability. Mr Gibbons’ brave mum Joanne Fairbrother, supported by a number of family members, read a powerful victim impact statement to the court, detailing the impact the assault continues to have on her son.
She told the court: “My name is Joanne, mother of Patrick. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of him. I dreaded coming here and reliving the trauma of the incident but as Patrick’s mum I knew I had to face my fear because he can’t do it for himself. He is my only child. He was always an active boy, full of love and light. He has never brought trouble to my door. He was a good child and I’m proud of the man he became. He loved to be active…experiencing different parts of the world and cultures.
“Patrick is loved by his family, he is the first great grandchild. He has always been looked up to. He was a good role model, worked hard and set a standard for the younger members of our family. He idolised his nan, he was the favourite and would always help her. He packed as much into life as he could. He was warm, outgoing and a joy to be around.
“On that fateful day that all ended for us. Patrick ran towards the man to have a verbal confrontation. My son has never been in a physical fight in his life. He has never brought trouble to my door. He is not a violent person and I can say that as his mum. The man decided to strike him to his head. What is heartbreaking is that the man continued to hit Patrick not one time, not two times, not three times, not four times, not five times, not six times, but seven times after striking him with a glass to the face.
“This man could have walked away after the first strike. He continued to hit Patrick all of those times until my son was knocked to the floor. It was only then that man walked away. The man did not even turn around and check if Patrick was alright or breathing. He chose to walk away.
Patrick Gibbons(Image: Submitted)
“I’m thankful that Patrick came around and called my brother to bring him home. It was here that I found him collapsed in the bathroom. I thought he was drunk. I noticed he had a red mark on his face. I’ve never seen him like this in 24 years. I heard him collapse on the floor. I rushed in and he was foaming at the mouth and his eyes were rolling. He was unresponsive to me. That experience; I didn’t understand what was going on. Within minutes my home was full of police and ambulance staff.
“He had a massive bleed on the brain. Since that moment our lives have changed. I have lived in constant worry, fear and concern. I am emotionally jaded and exhausted. Patrick remained in a coma. He had four brain operations in that time. I basically camped myself outside the hospital. He is my only child. I feared my only child was going to die. I can say I would have seriously thought about ending my life if my only child died.
“It was only this Monday that he had two seizures. This is ongoing for us. For one period while Patrick was awake, he suffered seizures for four to six weeks that lasted seven hours at a time. Patrick had to ride them out alone, it was unbearable to see. I wouldn’t leave a dog in this state. My son had to go through this for many weeks. He has been on a breathing machine for eight months, he will never be able to eat on his own.
“Recovery is slow and painful. He doesn’t look like my son. He has not been able to move. He is unable to speak. He will never walk again. We are not sure if he will ever be able to speak. I have been told that it’s unlikely that he will ever play football again, ever travel, or do anything he used to enjoy in his life.
“Patrick is confined to a bed or a special chair. He can’t lift his head on his own. He can’t support himself. I go home every day and cry my eyes out but I need to stay strong for him. What really bothers me is that my son will never become a dad. My son has been robbed of his dreams of becoming a father and mine of becoming a nan. This man’s actions which were not necessary caused all this to my son.
“You will never have any idea about the effects he has had on Patrick. I can’t put it into words. I ask for justice today for Patrick and I ask that this man experiences prison just as my beloved son is experiencing everyday. He is locked every day in his head and his body.”
Kevin Liston, prosecuting, earlier told the court: “On December 20 last year the victim, Patrick Gibbons, was socialising in the Black Horse pub on County Road with colleagues from work. The evening had passed without incident when the victim went to stand by the front door, where the defendant was also standing.
Patrick pictured with his great-grandmother, Annie(Image: Joanne Fairbrother)
“The defendant had been barred from the pub and was not allowed on the premises. The defendant was holding a pint glass bought at a different pub and carried along the road with him.” The court heard initially there was no issue between the two men but then the pair became “embroiled in a verbal exchange”, although the particulars about what the argument was about aren’t known because of Mr Gibbons’ condition.
The two men were kept apart before Mr Gibbons, now 24, ran towards Dellot close to an advertising board on County Road. Just seconds after Mr Gibbons approached him, Dellot struck him to the face while still holding the Carling glass, “causing it to break”.
Mr Liston told the court Mr Gibbons was still standing after the first strike, but was then hit with “repeated punches” by Dellot, before he was “knocked to the floor and lost consciousness”. The prosecution said Dellot connected with at least seven punches during the attack. Mr Liston continued: “The victim is described as lying, unresponsive on the floor and the defendant left the scene.”
The court heard Mr Gibbons regained consciousness at the scene and had a visible lump on his head. He was collected by his uncle and taken back to the home he shared with his mum, arriving back at 11.30pm. But around two hours later Mr Gibbons collapsed in his bathroom and started having seizures and foaming at the mouth.
“Unresponsive” Mr Gibbons was taken to Aintree University Hospital where he was found to have suffered a significant brain injury from an internal bleed. He was transferred in a coma to the specialist Walton Centre where he underwent life-saving surgery. The court heard he has since had four different operations.
Mr Liston told the court: “It’s sad to report his condition has not increased a great deal.” Mr Gibbons was said to be in the Walton Centre’s complex rehabilitation unit under deprivation of liberty safeguarding because lacked capacity about his own treatment. The court heard he had ongoing speech difficulties, had to be fed through a tube and used a wheelchair for mobility. Mr Liston said the victim was “likely to remain with severe disability…in the long-term”.
Police scientific support on County Road, Walton
In mitigation, Fiona McNeill, defending, told the court: “No sentence however long will alter the devastating consequences and the torment to his family which we heard so graphically and emotionally described by his mother. Can I say this and it may not land well with the family, the impact of his actions are not lost upon the defendant and he does express remorse which he continues to express. I would submit that it is genuine and heartfelt remorse.”
Ms McNeill said “this was not a case he went out that night intending to commit such an awful crime with such tragic consequences”. Instead, she said Dellot believed he was “initially acting in self-defence” before the balance “well and truly tipped”.
Ms McNeill said her client suffered with his mental health and medical professionals had said he may have been displaying psychotic symptoms at the time of the incident. She added her client had made efforts to address his mental health difficulties and had become abstinent from drugs and alcohol.
Ms McNeill told the court her client did not see his children every week but “one can’t underestimate the impact a custodial sentence will have on those twin girls”. She said that Dellot had a “heavy heart” about prison, adding it would “weigh more heavily and have a greater toll” because of his mental health.
Sentencing, Judge Crangle told the defendant, who wore a grey Under Armour tracksuit and sported black hair, that Mr Gibbons had “taken issue” to something he had said and had run towards him. But she added: “When he reached you his hands and arms were by his side and he was not offering immediate violence towards you.”
The judge said following the initial punch “Mr Gibbons was backing away with his arms by his side”. She continued: “There is no part of the footage where he threw a punch at him. You continued to punch him and your last punch hit him with so much force that he collapsed to the floor.”
