A MAN has been jailed for six years after killing his colleague with a single punch during a night out.

Phillip Begley, 44, of Wellington Road, Bridlington, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Paul Morrison at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday following a four day trial.

Begley was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for an attack on Mr Morrison's friend, Peter Bell, and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment to run consecutively.

The attack took place on November 1 last year when the men met for a drink in the Wetherspoons Winter Gardens pub, in Parliament Street, Harrogate.

At 7.30pm, Mr Morrison and Mr Bell were in the beer garden at the back of the pub when they were approached by Begley. He punched Mr Morrison in the face and he fell backwards, hitting his head on the base of a pillar.

The 51-year-old, from Burton Leonard, sustained a serious head injury and was taken to Harrogate District Hospital, where he spent almost three weeks fighting for his life before he sadly passed away.

Mr Bell suffered facial injuries in the incident, which required hospital treatment.

Senior investigating officer, detective chief inspector Pete Martin, of North Yorkshire Police, welcomed Begley’s sentence.

He said: “Paul Morrison was a devoted family man whose wife and children have been left heartbroken by the actions of Philip Begley.

“Paul was enjoying a night out with his friends and he never came home, which is a devastating and tragic scenario which no family should ever have to deal with.

“At no time has Begley accepted responsibility for his actions and has forced Paul’s family to sit through the anguish of a crown court trial.

“Now that Begley is facing spending the next few years in a prison cell I hope he takes some time to think about the devastating consequences of his violent behaviour.”

DCI Martin added that this tragic case shows just how much damage one punch can cause.

He said: “I hope Paul’s death highlights to people that getting involved in any kind of violent behaviour can have a tragic outcome.

“A family has lost a loved one, and Philip Begley is spending the foreseeable future in jail all because of one punch.”