Killer who punched Adam Lovatt after Audlem pub row jailed

A killer who fatally punched a man to the ground after a row at a pub has been jailed.

Adam Lovatt, 45, was attacked by Samuel Thorpe after a night out celebrating his wife's birthday in Audlem, Cheshire, on 25 May 2018.

Thorpe, 26, had pursued Mr Lovatt from a venue and punched him in the face, causing a fatal brain injury.

He was jailed for six years at Liverpool Crown Court after being found guilty of manslaughter last month.

Mr Lovatt ran a deli in the town and had only recently moved to the area.

On the night of the attack, he had stayed out and visited the Shroppie Fly, on Audlem Wharf, after his wife Clare had returned home.

Cheshire Constabulary said a customer had objected to his presence and tried to assault him. He left almost immediately, pursued by Thorpe and a second man, 37-year-old Nicolas Hill.

The pair caught up with him outside another pub, The Bridge Inn, where Thorpe delivered the fatal punch.

Mr Lovatt suffered two skull fractures when he fell backwards and hit his head on the ground. He died later that day.

Thorpe of Annions Lane, Wybunbury, and Hill, of Moorsfield Avenue, Audlem, left the scene and tried to evade police by travelling to Market Drayton in Shropshire.

Hill, who was cleared of manslaughter but previously admitted assisting an offender, was jailed for one year.

Mr Lovatt was remembered as an "extremely loving" family man by his wife.

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