A number of Stoke City supporters were among 11 men involved in "mindless" violence after they fell out among themselves in a "free-for-all" at a Burton town centre pub, a court heard.

Bar stools, pool cues and pool balls were thrown or used as weapons during the brawl at the Locomotive pub.

The incident - in July last year - was caught on CCTV from which police were able to identify the culprits.

At Stafford Crown Court on Friday, December 8, all the defendants were given suspended prison sentences for their part in the violent disorder.

One man is seen holding a stool as the fight escalates

One of the men, Stoke City season ticket holder Michael Whittingham, a paramedic with West Midlands ambulance service, faces disciplinary proceedings following his part in the melee.

The men had been part of two groups from the Stoke-on-Trent or Stone areas of North Staffordshire. They had been drinking in Burton pubs when Stoke played Burton Albion in a pre-season match.

Judge John Wait said it was an unusual case because it involved mature people who should have been responsible enough not to get involved in violence in licensed premises.

In addition, he said there no involvement with any rival supporters on the day and all the defendants were people from the same town.

One man is pushed towards a table

Passing sentence, he said the defendants had been involved in mindless violence fuelled by drink and had caused fear and distress to staff and customers at the pub.

Six of the men - Michael Whittingham, 49, Noel Edwards, 43, Philip Divers, 47, Andrew Campbell, 39, Samuel Brammar, 30, and John Eenkhoorn, 48 - were each given 10-month sentences suspended for two years and will be subject to a 7.30pm to 6am monitored curfew for the next five months and must complete 250 hours of unpaid work.

The Locomotive

The five other defendants - Jason Wood, 47, Leon Yewdell, 33, Nicholas Moorhouse , 31, Shaun Flannaghan, 42, and Joseph Fagan, 57 - were given eight-month sentences, suspended for two years, and made subject to four-month monitored curfews and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Although two or three of the defendants had attended the pre-season match they had left before the end of the game and Judge Wait stepped back from imposing football banning orders on the defendants.

One man is pushed to the floor as others reign down punches

"There was a fall-out among themselves and most had been drinking heavily in the day," he said.

"The incident was sparked by an issue unrelated to football and no-one was wearing items that identified them as football supporters."

However, he imposed a prohibited activity requirement on all the defendants which prevents them from attending any Stoke City matches, home or away, until May 31 next year.

Each defendant must contribute to a total of £1,320 compensation payments - £120 each to the two members of staff, bar manager Spartaks Giulicis and barmaid Charlotte Haynes, who were left frightened and distressed by the violence - and £1,080 for damage caused to the interior of the pub.

Ten of the defendants must also pay £535 towards the court costs and were all given three months to pay the money.

At court, Hunter Gray, prosecuting, said the incident started after a confrontation in the toilets which led to Edwards punching Divers from behind leaving him unconscious on the floor.

He said there was then "a free-for-all" during which bar stools, pool cues and pool balls were thrown or used as weapons and most of the incidents were captured on CCTV inside the pub.

Stafford Crown Court file pictures
The defendants appeared at Stafford Crown Court

Mr Gray said Brammar punched Fagan who was attacked by several others, including Flannaghan, and was struck with a pool cue and suffered a serious head injury.

Campbell, Eenkhoorn and Divers were seen to be kicking out at an unidentified man during the melee.

Wood, Moorhouse and Brammar were armed with pool cues and Yewdell was seen throwing punches and Whittingham was seen throwing bar stools.

Whittingham, a paramedic with the West Midlands ambulance service, and a Stoke City season ticket holder, was the only defendant to seek trial and he was found guilty after a recent retrial.

Philip Beardwell, for Whittingham, said it had been a spontaneous incident and his client was a person of exemplary good character who was highly regarded within the ambulance service.

He said his client had "a high degree of shame", and his future as a paramedic would be subject to a disciplinary hearing.

Mitigation for the other defendants variously involved expressions of remorse and shame and acting out of character in a moment of madness or misjudgement.