A MAJOR disturbance which erupted over allegations of shoddy building work was followed by a man involved being jailed days later for being a rogue roofer.

Neighbours in Cliffe Street, Nelson, looked on in horror as the fracas ended with victim Simon Fisher being kicked while he was on the ground, Burnley Crown Court was told.

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Mobile phone footage was captured of the incident by a worried bystander and eventually played to Judge Beverley Lunt, who described the ensuing melee as ‘absolute madness’.

Prosecutor Lisa Worsley said that the row erupted after tradesmen were confronted over repairs being carried out to a house in the street, with particular exception being taken to the use of expanding foam to fill gaps.

The court heard Mr Fisher could be seen on the footage to push Wallace Butler who then pursued him down the street to return the favour.

Paul McLoughlin can be seen ‘mouthing off’ in the middle of the scrap before Mr Fisher goes to ground and kicks are aimed at him by Ian Shepherd and Adam Hargreaves.

An eyewitness can be heard speaking to a police operator, as the squabble developers, saying: “There’s a lot of people here who appear to have been drinking.”

The court was told Mr Fisher tried to defend himself by arming himself with a trowel, causing injury to at least one of his attackers. He was left with a variety of cuts and bruises to his head and body afterwards.

Shepherd was jailed days after the attack at Preston for 24 months for being part of a £22,000 building fraud on an 85-year-old in Darwen. Jailing Shepherd for six months over the latest incident, Judge Lunt said: “All four of you need to grow up.”

Shepherd, 32, of Kime Street, Burnley, and Hargreaves, of no fixed address, each admitted assault charges. Butler, 53, of Cliffe Street, Nelson, and McLoughlin, 30, of Newfield Drive, Nelson, each admitted to affray.

Butler was conditionally discharged for 12 months and McLoughlin was given a 28-day prison sentence, suspended for six months. Hargreaves is to be sentenced later.

Philip Holden, for Shepherd, said his client had seen his partner give birth to his son, who had died at six weeks after he was jailed for the original fraud. The couple had not had the chance to grieve together as he was still on remand for assault.