A 43-year-old dad attacked a children’s football coach with a pool cue after learning that he had been having an affair with his wife. Ian Smith punched Thomas Shewell to the ground during a chance encounter outside the Family Tree social club in Solihull, before kicking him in the head, Birmingham Crown Court heard. He then said, “You f****** p**** you ruined my life,” before leaving Mr Shewell unconscious with serious facial injuries.
Mr Smith admitted unlawful wounding but managed to escape jail during the hearing on Thursday, March 13, and was sentenced to 16 months, suspended for two years and 24 days of rehabilitation activity. The self-employed father-of-three was also ordered to pay his victim £1,000 in compensation.
Gurdeep Garcha KC, defending, said: “The victim was a football coach. In 2017 and 2018, he and Mrs Smith embarked on a relationship which lasted several months.
“It was an illicit relationship. That affair was discovered and unsurprisingly caused massive upheaval in the defendant’s marriage and home life.
“They worked very hard to heal the hurt and repair the marriage.”
“Unresolved pain and anger” about the affair had caused Smith to see “red” and lose his self-control, Mr Garcha added, insisting that the 43-year-old was genuinely sorry about what had happened and was a “responsible, decent family man”.
Footage at the social club, where Mr Shewell had watched the Champions League final on June 10, 2023, reportedly showed the car park attack – and its victim being found “out cold on the ground” by the venue owner.
In a statement, Mr Shewell said he had been “shaken” by the incident, which left him with a number of cuts and bruises, and was now more cautious about going out to watch football with his friends.
The judge presiding over the case said the “vicious” nature of the attack could justify immediate imprisonment, but gave a suspended sentence on the grounds of Mr Smith’s lack of previous convictions and low risk of reoffending.
