RELATIVES of Skipton man Trevor Capstick who died after he was hit in the face have said they are devastated by the 18-month sentence given to his assailant.

Mr Capstick died after he was hit in the face by Lee Osadzenko, causing him to fall and strike his head. He suffered a fractured skull and died following neuro surgery.

At Bradford Crown Court, Judge McCallum jailed 20-year-old Osadzenko, of Sharphaw Avenue, Skipton, for 18 months after he admitted manslaughter.

Following the trial, Doreen Capstick, Trevor's mother, said: "I am devastated. Eighteen months for my son's life it is absolutely ridiculous. Everybody is so angry."

She added that all his friends were shocked by the sentence.

Trevor's sister, June, said: "That punch took our Trevor's life and if he had not done it he would still be with us. It is especially sad because it would have been his birthday this week. He had lots of friends and was well liked."

She added that the family was considering challenging the sentence.

On Friday, the crown court heard that Mr Capstick had suffered minor injuries to his mouth which were consistent with a single blow. However that sent him backwards, and he struck the left side of his head on the ground. The impact caused the brain to bounce in the skull.

Mr Capstick, 36, had been drinking in Skipton's Horse Close pub on May 30 just before the incident occurred.

It was estimated he had drunk seven pints of lager before arriving at the pub, between 4pm and 5pm. A later blood test at the hospital revealed he would have been over three times the legal limit for driving at the time of his death.

Peter Collier QC, prosecuting, said during the afternoon Mr Capstick's son, Wayne, had apparently been involved in a minor incident with the defendant's family, who were also in the pub.

There was a further incident at about 6.30pm, although there was a lack of clarity over what actually happened.

"It appears a large number of the Osadzenkos rushed towards the front door, coinciding with the time Mr Capstick and his family were leaving," said Mr Collier.

It was alleged that Mr Capstick had put his hands to the throat of the defendant's aunt, Annette Osadzenko, although he denied it when challenged.

After being told of this alleged incident, Lee Osadzenko followed Mr Capstick when he left the pub with his son and partner, Patricia Walker.

An independent witness, Andrew Storey, described how, at around 6.45pm, he saw the defendant approach Mr Capstick. He heard raised voices and saw Osadzenko punch him in the face.

"That caused Mr Capstick, partly as a result of the drink, to fall backwards onto the floor," said Mr Collier. "Ms Walker says she saw his head bounce on the pavement."

There was then a scuffle between Osadzenko and Wayne Capstick, before the defendant ran back to the Horse Close pub.

An ambulance attended the scene at around 6.57pm and Mr Capstick was taken to Airedale Hospital. However, his condition continued to deteriorate and he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where neuro surgery was performed. He died on June 3.

Police officers attended the Horse Close pub to search for Osadzenko, but they were unable to find him. He went to the police after hearing how Mr Capstick's condition had deteriorated.

David Fish QC, defending, said on the day in question Osadzenko's father had called to take him out for a drink at around 4pm. They went to the Horse Close pub, where other members of the family had gathered.

"An argument of some sort developed but what the argument was about is not entirely clear," said Mr Fish. "What is clear is that the defendant was not involved in that argument but that members of his family were. The argument subsided but unfortunately it must have been smouldering because it erupted again in the foyer of the premises. Again, the defendant was not present but came upon the scene soon after Mr Capstick and his co-habitee had left.

"It was clear to the defendant that there had been trouble of some sort and he was in fact told that Mr Capstick had grabbed his aunt by the neck," continued Mr Fish. "He then misguidedly decided to follow Mr Capstick to have it out with him."

The court heard that Osadzenko claimed Mr Capstick "took a swing" at him which did not connect and the defendant then threw a punch back. Mr Fish said it was not a hard punch, but it was sufficient to knock Mr Capstick off balance partly because of the amount he had drunk.

"It never occurred to the defendant that Mr Capstick would not be able to get up and it never occurred to him that he was about to descend into unconsciousness," said Mr Fish.

He added that the defendant, who had no previous convictions, was very remorseful and devastated by what had happened.

"He said if he were to plead guilty 'that would be the best way to say to his family how sorry I am'," said Mr Fish

Judge McCallum, who read a pre-sentence report, said it was a tragic case. "It was obvious you never intended such serious consequences but you punched a man sufficiently hard for him to fall to the ground. But we have to remind ourselves it was one blow and the blow in itself caused very moderate injury," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.