Drunken teens jailed after savage Durham station attack in front of child

Two teenagers who launched a violent attack on a father in front of his young daughter at Durham railway station have been jailed.

Danny Winter and Kane Parsons carried out the assault in the station car park after deliberately blocking the victim’s vehicle as he attempted to leave having collected a passenger.

Durham Crown Court heard the pair, who had been drinking heavily, had travelled on a northbound service from York on Friday 6 September 2024. After getting off at Durham, they followed a man who had just been picked up by a friend and then obstructed the car’s exit.

As tensions escalated, the victim got out of the vehicle to confront the group, who had been shouting and swearing. His nine-year-old daughter, who remained inside the car, screamed as she believed there had been a collision.

The situation quickly turned violent. Punches were thrown, knocking the victim to the ground, where he was repeatedly struck and kicked. A passenger who tried to intervene was also assaulted before being forced back into the car.

The court heard the attackers celebrated the violence by high-fiving each other before fleeing the scene through an underpass at the station. The victim was left with serious injuries, including a fractured cheekbone, alongside cuts and suspected further fractures.

Following a review of CCTV footage, both defendants were identified and arrested two months later. Although they initially gave no comment in police interviews, they later admitted causing grievous bodily harm.

Winter, now 21, of Wakenshaw Road, Gilesgate, also admitted a separate offence of blackmail relating to threats made to a woman over a drugs debt, breaching a suspended sentence imposed for an earlier assault. Parsons, now 20, of Liddle Avenue, Sherburn Village, had also pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and burglary offences linked to incidents over Christmas.

Judge Recorder Jamie Hill KC told the pair they had provoked the confrontation by blocking the vehicle, describing their actions as wholly unacceptable, particularly given the presence of a child witnessing the attack.

Winter was sentenced to a total of 44 months in prison and made subject to an indefinite restraining order. Parsons received a total custodial sentence of 32 months.

Image: Durham Constabulary