Football fan who left victim with life-changing injuries avoids jail

Josh Henry Corker, 23 of White Lane in Chapeltown, Sheffield, left his victim needing constant care and unable to speak, feed himself of move any of his limbs, after the attack in April last year.

The 35-year-old man from Wigan was walking with a friend in Sheffield city centre, close to the Yorkshire Building Society, when three men came his way singing football songs.

It is thought that he made a passing remark about Sheffield United having lost a football match, to which Corker responded aggressively, swearing at him before punching him in the face.

He fell to the ground, hit his head and was taken to hospital with “life-changing” injuries. He was later transferred to a rehabilitation centre closer to home.

Corker was given a two-year prison term, suspended for two-years, 270 hours unpaid work and an electronically monitored curfew of 9pm to 6am for six months. Detective constable Joanne de la Torre said: “This is a particularly tragic case. The life of a young man and his family have been changed forever due to what was a single punch, thrown in an alcohol-fuelled fit of anger.

In a statement, the victim’s mother said that she and her family felt their “hearts have been ripped out.”

She said: “He was looking forward to settling down in the future with a family of his own. Now, after all these months, we do not know if he will be any better than he is today.”