Jailed: Thug James Collinson, whose punch in a Scarborough pub led to the death of 59-year-old devoted dad and grandad

A notorious thug has been jailed for six years after killing a man with one punch and then boasting about the attack as he left the Scarborough pub, not realising his unprovoked assault had been recorded by a man wearing 'spy camera' spectacles.
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James Collinson, 38, a burly sea captain from Bridlington, struck 59-year-old John Glenn with a mighty blow which knocked him to the floor - out cold and motionless, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Mr Glenn, a devoted father and “amazing grandad” from Scarborough, never regained consciousness and died four weeks after the terrible incident at the Golden Last pub in Eastborough.

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His daughter Kelly Murphy was at his bedside, holding his hand, when his life-support machine was switched off.

James CollinsonJames Collinson
James Collinson

Tearful Ms Murphy told the court it felt like “my insides were being ripped out”.

The family had to make the heart-breaking decision to switch off life support after being told by neurosurgeons that Mr Glenn had suffered “irreparable” brain damage from the “concussive” blow and would not wake from an induced coma.

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Collinson, of Easton Road, appeared for sentence via video link on Friday after admitting manslaughter and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor David Gordon said Mr Glenn was walking past the pub when he was invited inside by his mates.

He got involved in a scrape with another man at whom he brandished a glass. The other man, who was named in court, suffered a slight cut to his cheek and just happened to be an “acquaintance” of Collinson, who was outside at the time.

After hearing that his mate had been involved in an incident with Mr Glenn, Collinson went back inside where Mr Glenn was being restrained by others.

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Collinson grabbed Mr Glenn by the wrist while he was still being restrained and punched him in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and fall on a seat.

Mr Glenn was bleeding from the nose, suffered bruising to his jaw and two black eyes, but got back up and was walking towards the exit when Collinson pounced again and struck the fatal blow.

This time Mr Glenn did not get back up and was lying motionless on the floor - unconscious and bleeding heavily from his nose and mouth.

Among the witnesses was a man wearing glasses fitted with an integrated camera on which he recorded the attacks.

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The footage was shown in court and helped to convict Collinson, a self-employed skipper of a North Sea fishing boat who was on one of his many drinking binges at the time of the incident on September 1 last year, said Mr Gordon.

An ambulance was called as Collinson left the pub with a mate. Collinson was heard to boast: “I’ve knocked him out".

Mr Glenn was taken to Scarborough Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit but never regained consciousness and died on September 27, just under a month after the attack.

He suffered severe brain damage from a lack of blood and oxygen following a cardio-respiratory arrest after the fatal blow.

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One witness saw Collinson “showing off about what he had done to Mr Glenn” as he left the pub.

Collinson was arrested the day after the attack. He told police he had only a hazy recollection of the incident because he was drunk.

Collinson, a married father-of-two, already had a track record for drink-related violence including an incident in 2001 in which he hit a man over the head with a brick, causing a wound that required three stitches.

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At Hull Crown Court in 2007, he was jailed for a year-and-a-half for wounding, ABH and battery after hitting his friend over the head with a bottle, punching him repeatedly and head-butting him.

He once broke a man’s nose at the Harbour Lites pub in Bridlington and, in a separate attack, attacked a bouncer at a nightclub.

In 2015, he was jailed for 16 months following a group attack on two Asian men on Bridlington seafront. One of the victims was kicked in the face and suffered a broken nose.

Judge Tom Bayliss said he considered Collinson to be a danger to the public when in drink because of his “entrenched willingness to use violence without the slightest provocation”.

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But he said a life term or indeterminate sentence was “not necessary or appropriate” in Collinson’s case.

Collinson was jailed for six years, of which he will serve two-thirds behind bars or until the Parole Board deems him fit to be released.

Mr Bayliss also imposed an extended four-year period on prison licence upon Collinson’s eventual release, which was “necessary” to protect the public.