A MAN who “kicked out” at an elderly dementia sufferer he argued with in the pub – pushing him down the stairs and breaking his arm – has been jailed.

Gareth Lamb, 44, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on the pensioner, during an incident at The Roebuck pub in Keighley in January last year.

Lamb, who himself suffers from arthritis and has recently undergone a hip replacement operation, was jailed yesterday for 21 months.

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The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, said he had no choice but to jail Lamb given the seriousness of his actions, which left the victim having to move into a care home.

He also criticised Lamb, of Hollins Lane, Keighley, for not taking the time to question the elderly man’s behaviour, which was clearly consistent with dementia.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Lamb and the pensioner had been regular visitors to The Roebuck pub and, on the evening of January 7 last year, had both been in the pub.

Prosecutor Nick Adlington said the victim has no recollection of the incident but witnesses described how the pair had got into a dispute over a £10 note earlier in the evening.

Later at about 11.30pm when the pensioner was returning from the toilet, the pair met on the stairs when Lamb was heard to say “He’s been on at me all night - there’s nothing wrong with him,” and booted the pensioner in the stomach, causing him to fall back down the stairs, Mr Adlington said.

He added that a witness in the bar heard Lamb saying, “I just kicked him down the stairs”.

But later when questioned by police he denied deliberately kicking him, saying the pensioner had swung as if to hit him in the groin and he had instinctively lifted his knee.

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Abigail Langford, for Lamb, said he was genuinely remorseful, adding that it had not occurred to him that the reason for the victim’s “odd and sometimes aggressive behaviour” was down to dementia.

Judge Durham Hall said in sentencing: “You determined that he was picking on you or abusing you. A moment’s consideration would have suggested that was not the case and a moment’s inquiry would have indicated that he was somebody to be looked after.

“You lost your patience, and with somebody not quite twice your age, but what’s worse is that you chose a particularly hazardous location to give vent to your feelings.”

The consequences were “catastrophic”, he added.