14-year-old boy admits attack on football fan

Updated

A 14-year-old schoolboy has pleaded guilty to wounding a football supporter who was left in a coma after a street attack.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, was granted bail at Wolverhampton Crown Court after admitting a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Watford fan Nic Cruwys.

Mr Cruwys, from Hemel Hempstead, spent around four months in hospital after suffering a serious head injury following a match between Wolves and Watford last March.

The 14-year-old, who is from Wolverhampton, appeared in court alongside a further five youths who denied the same charge.

Joseph Lister and Ryan Meer, both aged 18, and 19-year-olds Robert Beech and Daniel Lloyd will go on trial on August 8 alongside a 15-year-old whose identity is protected by a court order.

Lloyd, of Longfellow Road, Dudley; Lister, of Palmer Close, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton; Beech, of Springhill Road, also Wednesfield, and Meer, of Watling Street, Gailey, Staffordshire, were charged after a lengthy inquiry by West Midlands Police.

The 14-year-old, whose bail prohibits him from visiting towns where Wolves are playing, will be sentenced at the end of the trial.

Ordering a pre-sentence report to be prepared on the boy, Judge Amjad Nawaz told him: "Simply because I have ordered a report in your case and adjourned sentence, you shouldn't read into that any particular sentence."

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