TWO men who attacked another man in a Skipton club, resulting in the dislocation of both his shoulders, have escaped an immediate prison sentence.

Samuel Tyson, 26, and Connor Andrusiak, 27, kicked and punched Joseph Dawson on stairs at Kooky nightclub more than two years ago, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.

The three men ended up at the bottom of the stairs in what was described by their solicitor as a ‘confused melee’, the court heard on Friday.

Tyson and Andrusiak admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and were sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.

The court heard that Mr Dawson had been drinking with friends on June 16, 2019, before ending up at the Keighley Road club.

He had left his friends at the bar and was on his way to the bathroom when he was attacked by Tyson and Andrusiak.

He had initially been grabbed by one of the men on his way up and the three of them ended up at the bottom of the stairs, with one of the men landing on him.

CCTV footage showed the three falling to the bottom where the two men continued to assault Mr Dawson, using both their fists and feet.

Prosecuting, Nadine Clough, who explained one of the reasons the case had taken so long to come to court was because the investigating officer had been on long term sick leave, said Mr Dawson had described Tyson as an ‘acquaintance’ but no more.

One of Mr Dawson’s shoulders had dislocated in the fall and the other when one of the other men had landed on top of him.

Door staff at the club had called for an ambulance after seeing the extent of his injuries.

A doctor administered a pain relieving analgesic before manipulating his shoulders and putting them back into place, and also treated him for a lacerated eyebrow, said Ms Clough.

In mitigation Keith Blackwell said the case had been hanging over his clients’ heads for a considerable amount of time. He said they had been candid with the court and had entered immediate guilty pleas.

All parties had been drinking and the CCTV footage showed a group of people going up the stairs and a ‘lot of bodies’ coming down, said Mr Blackwell.

He said Tyson and Andrusiak accepted they were guilty of assault, but claimed Mr Dawson had initiated what had happened on the stairs.

“They feel they were not the aggressors, they feel they were acting in self defence, although they do accept they went beyond what was acceptable self-defence,” he said.

Magistrates told Tyson, of Broomhill Walk, Keighley, and Andrusiak, of Sutton Lane, Eastburn, that they had carried out a particularly unpleasant prolonged assault and there were two of them, and just one of him.

In addition to the prison sentence, both men will have to pay Mr Dawson £100 in compensation, pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £80.