Man, 44, charged over Harrogate pub death

Paul Colin Morrison, 51, from Burton Leonard, Harrogate, died at Harrogate District Hospital on Thursday last week.

He had been in a critical condition since the incident at the Wetherspoons Royal Baths pub on Parliament Street at 7.30pm on November 1. A 43-year-old man from York also required treatment for facial injuries sustained during the incident.

The 44-year-old suspect from Harrogate was re-arrested on Tuesday and later charged with manslaughter. He has been bailed with conditions to appear at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on December 16.

North Yorkshire Police want to hear from potential witnesses who were inside the Wetherspoons pub before the alleged assault in the rear beer garden area.

Detective Sergeant Steve Menzies, of Harrogate CID, said: “In particular, we have established that Mr Morrison and the other alleged victim were with a group of men who may have been talking to some women inside the pub.

“Mr Morrison is then believed to have chatted to a woman in the beer garden just before he was injured.

“There is no suggestion that these general conversations were in anyway linked to the alleged assaults that followed, but it is vitally important that these women contact the police as soon as possible to assist the investigation.”

If you can help, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Harrogate CID or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference number 12140189150.