'Middle-aged men' began brawl on busy train
BBCThree "middle-aged men" who began a drunken brawl on a busy train full of families and football fans should have known better, a judge has said.
Brothers Thomas and Wayne Hawthorn, 59 and 55, and their friend Jason Rodden, 55, exchanged punches with a group of Sunderland fans on the 20:00 London to Newcastle train on 16 September 2023, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The melee began after Thomas Hawthorn, who had boarded the train at York, repeatedly threw crisps at a group of men, the court heard.
The brothers admitted affray while Rodden was convicted of the offence by jurors. The trio from Newcastle were given community orders with unpaid work.
The evening train was filled with families and fans who had been to London to watch the Black Cats beat Queen's Park Rangers, the court heard.
The Hawthorns and Rodden had been drinking in York, prosecutors said.
After getting a seat, Thomas Hawthorn picked up an open bag of crisps and began throwing them at a nearby group who had been to the Sunderland game, the court heard.
The men asked he stop but he just threw more, the court heard, prompting a member of the group to throw a bottle of wine back which struck Wayne Hawthorn, the court heard.
'Childish behaviour'
Wayne Hawthorn instantly stood up, pushed his brother out of the way and started exchanging punches with the man who threw the bottle, the court heard, with a "full-scale brawl" breaking out.
Those not involved in the fighting fled along the carriage, including families with children, the court heard.
The men were arrested when the train stopped at Darlington.
Recorder Ayesha Smart said the brawl on a "confined carriage" was instigated by Thomas Hawthorn's "childish behaviour", and his brother Wayne was one of the "principal participants in the violence" after he "overreacted" to the bottle being thrown.
"You are middle-aged men," the judge told them, adding: "You should not be behaving in that way."
She said they would "hopefully now know better than to react" in the way they did.
Each was given a year-long community order with Rodden, a paramedic, to do 120 hours of unpaid work, Wayne Hawthorn, a father of two, 110 hours and Thomas Hawthorn, a joiner and rugby coach, 100 hours.