[A] man who fatally punched a father in a Wigan pub has been jailed.
Craig Cropper (20/12/1988) of Arundel Street was sentenced to four years and eight months for manslaughter at Liverpool Crown Court today (Friday 18 May 2018).
He pleaded guilty to causing the death of 51-year-old Nicholas Sullivan from Hindley at a previous hearing.
On 20 January this year Cropper had become involved in altercation with a man just after 10pm outside a pub in Hindley where Nicholas intervened.
Nicholas – known as Baggo to friends and family – then moved on to the Georgia Browns pub where Cropper approached him.
A verbal disagreement took place before the argument became physical with Cropper repeatedly punching Nicholas to the head despite being restrained by members of the public.
Due to the blows, Nicholas fell unconscious on to the ground and members of the public stepped in to perform CPR while an ambulance was called.
He was taken to hospital where he sadly died in the early hours of the morning as a result of the injuries inflicted by Cropper.
By this time, Cropper had already contacted police to say that he was involved in an altercation with Nicholas but claimed that he had only hit him once. He was subsequently arrested.
Detective Sergeant Nigel Rigby, from Wigan CID, said: “Losing a loved one is always heart-breaking but to have them taken from you because of the brutal actions of one individual is utterly devastating.
“Violence is never the answer and ultimately just one punch could prove fatal and rip someone from their family. In this case, Cropper threw more than ten punches.
“Cropper was fully aware of his actions as he repeatedly beat Nicholas with his fist and now he has more than four years to reflect on that.”
Nicholas’ family said: “The family are still coming to terms with the tragic loss of Nicholas and we miss him so so much, he was a big part of all our lives in so many ways and he was loved by all the family.”
