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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| TV presenter jailed for two years | TV presenter jailed for two years |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A former BBC television presenter who hit a teenager with a 3ft wooden pole in a fight outside a West Midlands bar has been jailed for two years. | |
| Ashley Blake was found guilty of wounding Greg Jones, 17, and intending to pervert the course of justice. | Ashley Blake was found guilty of wounding Greg Jones, 17, and intending to pervert the course of justice. |
| Blake, 40, who presented Midlands Today, was sacked following his conviction at Birmingham Crown Court. | Blake, 40, who presented Midlands Today, was sacked following his conviction at Birmingham Crown Court. |
| He had denied the attack outside The Place 2B restaurant in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. | He had denied the attack outside The Place 2B restaurant in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. |
| Jurors heard he swung a patio umbrella pole above his head, hitting the teenager in the face. | Jurors heard he swung a patio umbrella pole above his head, hitting the teenager in the face. |
| Admitted lying | Admitted lying |
| Greg Jones, who had been attending an 18th birthday party, suffered facial injuries to his lip and chin. | Greg Jones, who had been attending an 18th birthday party, suffered facial injuries to his lip and chin. |
| Ashley Blake formerly owned the bar in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham | |
| The court heard he had gone to the aid of 17-year-old Adam Finn who had been knocked unconscious when violence flared. | |
| Blake then tried to hide the pole by throwing it into a neighbouring garden centre. | Blake then tried to hide the pole by throwing it into a neighbouring garden centre. |
| He initially denied having the pole but later admitted lying to detectives after being shown CCTV footage of him fetching it from behind the bar. | He initially denied having the pole but later admitted lying to detectives after being shown CCTV footage of him fetching it from behind the bar. |
| He said he had used the pole as a bat to deflect missiles being thrown at him. | He said he had used the pole as a bat to deflect missiles being thrown at him. |
| The man who attacked Adam Finn - Steven Sproule, 38, of Booths Farm Road, Great Barr - admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for 13 months. | |
| 'Ruined' man | |
| Blake was also given a six-month sentence, to run concurrently with the two-year term, for intending to pervert the course of justice. | |
| Your career is over. You have nobody to blame for that but yourself. Judge Peter Carr | |
| Blake had previous convictions in the 1980s and 1990s for theft, handling stolen goods and driving while disqualified, the court heard. | |
| He was sacked by the BBC two weeks after his conviction. | |
| His defence barrister Nigel Rumfitt QC, said Blake had already been punished because his "career is in tatters". | |
| He said on 24 January - the day before the incident - Blake was "an extremely successful man" but had then "panicked" and became a "ruined" one. | |
| He added: "In a few moments he threw all that away. | |
| "He overreacted to a violent situation that was not his making." | |
| Judge Peter Carr told the presenter: "Your career is over. You have nobody to blame for that but yourself. | |
| "Whilst I appreciate all you have lost, I bear in mind a young man was injured, leaving a permanent scar." | |
| He said he had to consider lies Blake told in police interviews and to the trial jury, adding: "An appropriate sentence in your case is one of two years." | |
| Blake mouthed the words "I love you" to his partner Jessica Hayes as he was led away to begin his sentence. |