A FATHER and son are both behind bars after a feud between two Huncoat families left a man beaten up and semi-conscious.

Father-of-four Duncan Johnstone, 36, was sent to prison for nine months and his son, Duncan Cash Johnstone, 17, himself soon to be a father, was detained for six months for their parts in an armed attack on Geoffrey Gibson as he lay helpless on the street.

Burnley Crown Court heard that Mr Gibson staggered to a doorway where he was found slumped, bleeding and suffering head injuries.

Judge David Pirie said only custody could be justified - although there was a significant element of provocation in the case.

The judge, who had read 18 letters and two petitions in support of the defendants, said he was satisfied the victim and his brother Keith had been looking for trouble and violence.

Keith Gibson had a hammer with him and Geoffrey Gibson wore a hat pulled down in a bid to hide his identity. The judge said the Johnstones were expecting trouble, were prepared with weapons and were ready to use them, but he could not say they were lying in ambush.

There came a stage when Geoffrey Gibson was felled and attacked by both defendants with pool cue-type weapons. Duncan Johnstone encouraged his son and the considerable violence, which also involved others, went well beyond anything that could be justified as reasonable self-defence.

Judge Pirie had adjourned sentence after receiving an anonymous letter which claimed there may have been some interference with the jury before it delivered its verdicts.

He had asked police to make inquiries, all the jurors had been seen in person and there was no evidence at this stage to suggest any member of the panel was approached by Geoffrey Gibson or any agent on his behalf before or after the trial.

The Johnstones, of Blackburn Road, Clayton-le-Moors, were both convicted of violent disorder and unlawful wounding in August 1998.

Paul Chambers, for Duncan Johnstone, said the defendant was very concerned for his son.

He had been in custody for nearly six weeks, had seen the inside of a prison and was worried about the teenager facing that prospect.

Effectively a man of good character, he had run two shops and was a family man.

It was not the type of case where a severe custodial sentence must necessarily follow. For Duncan Cash Johnstone, John Woodward said the defendant had only been 15 at the time and had since been law-abiding.

He was clearly a young man of ability, having done quite well at school, and was looking forward to the birth of his first child in July.

There was support from the local community who felt very strongly about the fact the pair had been convicted and about what might happen to them.

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