Doormen and manager stepped in to stop vicious gang attack in Leamington which led to four men being jailed

Carl Lewis who works as a bouncer at Altoria in Warwick Street, Gareth Beddows who is the bar’s general manager, and their colleague Victor Peixoto who no longer works at the venue, came to the aid of Thomas Dewhurst when he was attacked by four men while he was on a night out last September.

The three men received a public commendation from Judge Sylvia de Bertodano and a £300 reward for their actions.

Mr Beddows said: “We just acted on instinct. We saw that it was four on one and we ran over to stop it. It turned into a bit of an exchange between us and them and we just held them there until the police got there.

“You would hope most people would do the same thing rather than watch someone get attacked.

“They were just a bunch of bullies who needed to be dealt with.”

Adam Edwards, his brothers Sean and Joseph Edwards, and David Lukeman have all been jailed for their part in the attack.

They had all previously pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to assaulting Mr Dewhurst causing him actual bodily harm.

At the court last week Adam Edwards, 25, of Hockley Road, Hatton, at the time, who had also admitted possessing cocaine, and Lukeman, 23, of Brome Hall Lane, Lapworth, were both jailed for two years.

And twins Sean and Joseph Edwards, 19, both of Hockley Road, Hatton, were both jailed for 16 months.

Mr Dewhurst, an electrician who had just finished his contract working on the new Debenhams store at the Leamington Shopping Park, had spent the evening in Altoria with his friend Thomas Cookson and another man whom they put in a taxi before heading to another bar.

But they encountered the defendants, who were out celebrating Lukeman’s birthday and had been refused admission to Altoria earlier in the night, and an exchange of insults followed.

The defendants ran over and Adam Edwards confronted Mr Dewhurst, who backed away before he was punched by Lukeman.

As all four joined in the attack Mr Dewhurst was dragged to the ground and pulled towards the kerb where they repeatedly kicked and punched him, with Lukeman delivering a particularly heavy kick.

With their victim unconscious on the ground, the attack continued until the doormen and Mr Beddows, rushed over and pulled them off.

Although the police then arrived on the scene, for some reason they allowed the defendants to get into a taxi and leave – but its route was followed by a CCTV operator who had captured the attack, and they were later arrested.

Mr Dewhurst was taken to hospital and has since said he loved working in Leamington but that he no longer feels safe in the town.