Three men have been sentenced after a fatal assault left a family without their "funny and kind" teenage son.

Leon Wildgoose, 23, Dylan Ford, 25 and Ian Hall, 42, have been sentenced for the part they played in a brutal assault in South Shields in 2021.

In the early hours of August 30, Steven Thompson, 19, had been out socialising with friends before he was left unconscious following an assault outside a club on Anderson Street, South Shields.

Sadly, despite the efforts of emergency services, Steven died later that same day.

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The "tragic and brutal" case cost a family their beloved son. In a previous tribute Steven’s mother, Elaine, said: “Kind, funny and loved by everyone – that was Steven.

“We are an extremely close-knit family, and this loss has truly devastated us, it’s not possible to put into words how much we love him and will miss him.”

At once, an investigation was launched into the brutal assault and detectives swiftly arrested Wildgoose, Ford and Hall. Wildgoose, of Laygate, South Shields, and Ford, of Egglesfield Road, also South Shields, both pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February last year

In December 2022, following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Hall, of Revesby Street, South Shields, was found not guilty of manslaughter however, Hall previously pleaded guilty to affray after an altercation with another man during the same incident.

Yesterday (Friday, March 3), the trio appeared before the same court and received their sentences. Wildgoose and Ford both received four years in prison and Hall was sentenced to 30 weeks suspended for 18 months and 150 hours of unpaid work.

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Following the sentencing, Northumbria Police Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Dodds, the senior investigating officer on the case, said: “Our thoughts remain with Steven’s family, I know how devastated they are and how much his loss continues to impact them.

“This has been a tragic and brutal case which has sadly cost a nineteen-year-old man his life – I want to make it clear that there is no place for any form of violence in our communities.

“The impact violence can have on families is heart-breaking and should never be the price someone has to pay.”