BBC presenter Ashley Blake has been sentenced to two years in prison for hitting a teenage boy in the face with a wooden pole. The incident occurred at a pub he owned in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, in January.
Blake, who worked for the BBC's Midlands Today programme, was convicted last month of unlawful wounding. Birmingham Crown Court heard that he took a patio umbrella pole from behind the bar and swung it, striking 17-year-old Greg Jones in the face. Jones, who was attending a birthday party, suffered injuries to his lip and chin after trying to act as a peacemaker during a dispute.
The court also heard that Blake attempted to pervert the course of justice by throwing the pole into a neighbouring garden centre to conceal it from police. He had previous convictions dating back to the 1980s and 1990s for theft, handling stolen goods, and driving while disqualified. The BBC sacked him two weeks after his conviction on 3 August.
Another man, Steven Sproule, 38, was jailed for 13 months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm after punching another youth unconscious. He was already serving a suspended sentence for driving offences at the time.
Judge Peter Carr told the defendants: 'This was a serious episode of public violence. What each of you did was so serious that an immediate custodial sentence cannot be avoided.' Blake's barrister, Nigel Rumfitt QC, said his client had 'panicked' and was now a 'ruined' man, adding: 'In a few moments he threw all that away.'
