Teenagers jailed for Manchester Metrolink attack

Three teenagers from Oldham who repeatedly kicked a man as he lay in a pool of blood at a tram stop on Manchester’s Metrolink have been jailed.

A man in his 40s was getting off the tram at Freehold Metrolink stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line on Thursday 8 March when the three youths attacked him on the platform for no reason.

The attack lasted almost three minutes, continuing even when the victim was unconscious. The victim was left in a pool of his own blood.

The teenagers - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were sentenced at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court. They previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm. The sentences were as follows:

• A 16-year-old boy was sentenced to five years in a young offenders institute
• A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institute
• A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to five years in a young offenders institute.

The driver of a tram passing through the Freehold Metrolink stop on the opposite track climbed out of his cab and challenged the trio.

The teenagers continued to kick the man while he was unconscious until passengers on the tram forced the doors open and came to the victim’s aid.

Shortly after the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) released the graphic CCTV footage of the attack in the hope the public would come forward to name the perpetrators. Details from witnesses, along with further information received from the public, helped detectives to identify the teens.

The victim has recovered from his injuries, but suffered multiple including a bleed behind an eye, broken nose and extensive bruising. He spent several days in hospital.

Detective Sergeant Alex Brown, from GMP’s Oldham CID, said: “Three violent teenagers have been held accountable for their sickening actions. They subjected an innocent man to a relentless, brutal and shocking attack for no reason other than because they felt like it.

“They gained enjoyment from beating a man to the point where he was unconscious and was unable to defend himself. They returned on three occasions to inflict agonising injuries and then, only as a result of the passing tram passengers and driver, they stopped and ran away. Thankfully we were able to identify these individuals and they admitted their role in this callous attack. They can now spend their time in prison thinking about the consequences of what they did.

“No one should ever feel scared to use public transport and I want to stress that the network across Oldham and Greater Manchester is patrolled by a dedicated TravelSafe team, and local officers will continue to work with TfGM to tackle anti-social behaviour.”

Transport for Greater Manchester’s head of Metrolink, Danny Vaughan, said: “This was a disgusting and mindless attack and we are extremely thankful that the victim was able to recover from his injuries. I have no doubt that the consequences could have been far worse – possibly even fatal – had the tram driver and other passengers not confronted these thugs when they did.

“CCTV played a vital part in securing these convictions and this case should act as a strong warning and deterrent to others. We have a sprawling network of CCTV on all our trams and stops and will not hesitate to handover the footage to police and partner agencies to help bring offenders to justice on the rare occasions something serious occurs on the network.”

Aline Frantzen, managing director at tram operator KeolisAmey Metrolink (KAM), added: “I would like to take this opportunity to praise the actions of our driver. Customers are at the heart of everything we do, and our driver’s brave attempts to intervene in this vicious attack undoubtedly prevented an even more serious outcome.”