Birmingham City fans jailed for Portsmouth 'mob attack'
Two Birmingham City fans who initially walked free from court after admitting their role in an attack on a rival fan have now been jailed.
Philip Bancroft, 32, from Tamworth, and Adam Daly, 21, from Birmingham, had their 12-month suspended sentences overturned by the Court of Appeal.
They were each sentenced to three and a half years for wounding with intent.
They were part of a mob who attacked Tim Hanks after Birmingham's FA Cup match at Portsmouth on 6 March 2010.
The Appeal Court judges, sitting in London on Tuesday, said they agreed with Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC that the suspended sentences, imposed in April at Portsmouth Crown Court, were "unduly lenient".
Lady Justice Hallett said Bancroft, of Woodhurst Close, Tamworth, and Daly, of Bell Lane, Tile Cross, Birmingham, were part of a large group of Birmingham supporters who became involved in a confrontation with supporters of the home side.
She said Pompey supporter Mr Hanks, 54, from Northamptonshire, came across the commotion in the road and decided to intervene in an attempt to persuade those involved to stop the violence.
Bancroft and Daly took part in a "mob" attack on Mr Hanks, who had "done them no harm" she said.
The judge said Mr Hanks, who was repeatedly kicked and punched and left lying unconscious in the street, could have been killed in the incident.
He suffered serious physical and psychological harm and the after effects included anxiety, a sense of vulnerability and unease and an on-going problem with his short-term memory.
The judge said of his attackers: "They showed no mercy to their innocent victim and can expect little mercy from the court, however remorseful they may have been after they were caught."
Both men are also subject to six-year football banning orders.