Notts thug jailed for attacks on two men by body of tragic footballer Jordan Sinnott who died at Sheffield hospital

Connor Woodcock's victims were “merry” when they left the Vine pub in Market Place in the early hours January 25, and found Mr Sinnott on the floor, as a group of males walked away.

Mr Sinnott, a 25-year-old former Matlock Town player, later died at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital after being found with a suspected fractured skull.

CCTV cameras recorded Woodcock approaching the men, sucker-punching one of them and fracturing his jaw, and hitting the other man at least twice in the face, said prosecutor Sarah Phelan.

The footage ended with one of his victims "knocked out cold" and another with his head in the lap of a bystander.

He was identified and interviewed on January 26, when he gave a no-comment response, Ms Phelan said. The court heard Woodcock has 15 previous convictions, including a prison sentence for assault in 2014.

Raglan Ashton, mitigating, said: "This is not an escalation. This is an isolated incident. It represents by far and away his most serious offending.

"He was clearly in drink. Once he was aware of all the footage he was very contrite. It wasn't pre-meditated. It was spontaneous."

He said Woodcock saw Mr Sinnott's injury, which happened independently, and "as a consequence his behaviour was affected."

"His offending was very much against that context," Mr Ashton added. "When he is given his liberty he is going to live with his mother."

Woodcock, 28, of Beehive Street, Retford, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm, when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court, on Friday.

Judge James Sampson told him: "This sort of violence can, and often does, end in a manslaughter charge. It's clear there's a theme of violence running through your life."

He handed Woodcock a total of 20 months for both assaults.

Following Mr Sinnott's death, Cameron Matthews, 21, of Denman Close, Retford, and Kai Denovan, 22, of Collins Walk, Retford, were charged with manslaughter.

They remain in custody and are due to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on May 22.