A TEENAGER who broke a man’s jaw in a row over the merits of two Yorkshire cities has been locked up for nearly four years.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Billy Cameron, 19, got into a heated argument with two men during a game of pool in a basement in the city on January 18.

Prosecutor Michael Smith said that a “tense situation” developed following a “discussion over which city was better, Bradford or Sheffield”, adding that one of the men had accused Cameron of “behaving like a gangster.”

The court heard that after a bottle of vodka got smashed, Cameron and one of the men armed themselves with pool cues. Though the cues were put down, the defendant proceeded to attack the man, punching him repeatedly to the face until he fell to the floor. As the second man tried to intervene, Cameron then hit him in the face.

The first man was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment, and later required two operations to mend a broken jaw. In a victim impact statement, he said the attack had left him in “constant pain”, unable to talk or eat properly.

The court heard that just over a week after the attack, on January 28, Cameron and an accomplice, Timothy Baines, 19, broke into a house on Bridge Street in Oakworth, stealing a handbag and a BMW from the driveway of the property.

The pair bought petrol for the vehicle at a nearby garage but made off without paying, before also using a card from the woman’s purse to pay for goods.

The following night, January 29, the pair attempted to burgle three further properties - one on Hillside Avenue, Oakworth, and two on Emmott Farm Fold, Haworth - but failed to gain entry.

Mr Smith told the court that in June of last year, Baines had been convicted of stealing lead from the roof of the Toyland store in Keighley, leaving £8,500 worth of damage.

Cameron, of Edensor Road, Keighley, was on-licence at the time of the offending having been sentenced to 14 months detention for burglary in August last year.

He pleaded guilty to offences including causing grievous bodily harm, assault, burglary, and attempted burglary.

Jayne Beckett, defending, said her client had endured an “unfortunate upbringing” in foster care away from his addict parents.

Ken Green, mitigating for Baines, of Agnes Street, Keighley, who admitted his role in the burglary and attempted burglaries, said the probation service had “stuck its neck out” for his client, with a report recommending a community order or suspended sentence.

Judge Hatton acknowledged that Baines was in a “significantly different” position to his co-accused, given his lack of relevant previous convictions. He was sentenced to 22 months in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 21 days rehabilitation, 200 hours unpaid work, and a three-month curfew.

Turning to Cameron, Judge Hatton said that a minimum sentence applied as the defendant was a “third-strike burglar.”

Sentencing him to 43 months in a young offenders institution, he told him: “Even though you are only 19, you have a very considerable criminal record. Despite your age, a significant custodial sentence is demanded.”