Pub attacker’s sentence cut after court brawl

Jason Gaskin, a 53-year-old father of five, died after Jake Wells punched him outside a Doncaster club in October 2023. A court reduced the sentence of James Neeson, who had punched Gaskin earlier that night, after Neeson was attacked in the court building before his hearing.

The dispute began during a Halloween party lock-in, when Neeson struck Gaskin twice; outside, Wells landed the punch that knocked him unconscious. Wells received four years and nine months for manslaughter, while Neeson’s sentence for assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice fell from 12 to nine months. The judge called the court attack “outrageous” and said the reduction was an act of mercy; two people were arrested.