Two men jailed for ‘unprovoked and vicious’ attack in city centre

While one of the two attackers was sentenced to 18 months, the second defendant was handed a six-year sentence with an extended three years on licence after he was deemed to be dangerous by the Probation Board.

Nathan Paul McEwan (20) from Clanrye Avenue in Newry and 23-year old Jamie Andrew Boardman from Fairview Road in Newtownabbey both admitted assaulting and robbing the lone male on July 21, 2018.

Belfast Crown Court heard the victim was targeted by the pair as he walked along Wellesley Avenue at around 5.30pm carrying a plastic bag containing beer and cigarettes.

A drunken McEwan and Boardman shouted at him in the street, before they attacked him and robbed his bag. During the assault, the older man was brought to the ground, dragged across the road and repeatedly kicked as he lay defenceless.

A female resident came out of her house and to the assistance of the man, which caused McEwan and Boardman to flee with the beer and cigarettes.

The injured man, a Romanian national, was taken to hospital. A prosecuting barrister said he later made a statement saying he came to Northern Ireland for a better life, but has since returned home. He also said the attack left him fearful, and his hearing has been affected.

During sentencing, Judge Neil Rafferty QC said a witness described the attack as “unprovoked and vicious”.

Boardman was also sentenced for two other incidents - robbing a teenager in June 2017, and stealing money from a woman in November 2018.