‘Unsurvivable’ punch killed man at Lichfield bar, court told

A pub boss died after an “unsurvivable” punch to the neck, a murder trial has been told.

Matthew O’Gara, who ran The Plough pub in Huddlesford, Staffordshire, died in hospital two days after the incident at the Ricco and Loren bar on Market Street, Lichfield, on 24 May.

Billy Allison, who has admitted manslaughter but denied murder, delivered a “very, very hard” punch with the “stance and skill of an experienced fighter”, the jury at Stafford Crown Court heard.

The 36-year-old also admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm against another man, Adam Cooper, during the incident, but denied doing so intentionally.

The court heard how O’Gara, 44, suffered a “full force” punch which broke several bones in his neck and split an artery which provides blood to the brain. He never regained consciousness after the attack.

“It caused an injury that was unsurvivable,” said prosecuting barrister Tim Hannam KC.

The force with which it landed made a noise loud enough to be heard over the sound system in the bar, he added.

Hannam told the jury Allison, of Cropthorne Road in Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, had been visiting Lichfield with a group of friends including his girlfriend Charlotte Dean and friends Ryan Bridge and Ben Cullen, and had been drinking throughout the day before the attack on the two men, who he did not know.

Cooper, who was part of a group at the bar with O’Gara and others, suffered a fractured eye socket as well as a fractured nose and damage to a dental implant, the court heard.

CCTV footage shown to the court on Wednesday showed Allison take three steps towards Cooper, before striking him twice.

Later footage from a courtyard at the back of the bar shows Cooper receiving help in a wooden shelter and Allison leaving through a gate.