Dylan Dellot left Patrick Gibbons unconscious in the street after punching him seven times
19:30, 05 Dec 2025Updated 19:32, 05 Dec 2025
Dylan Dellot, 37 and of Kirkby, was sentenced to three years, 11 months in prison(Image: Merseyside Police)
A man smashed a Carling glass into the face of a defenceless man before knocking him unconscious with a series of punches outside a County Road pub. Dylan Dellot, 37, had taken drugs and had been drinking for much of the day without sleep when he repeatedly punched Patrick Gibbons to the head, knocking him unconscious, outside the Black Horse pub shortly before Christmas last year.
Mr Gibbons refused medical attention when he came around and was picked up by his family. But just hours later he collapsed at home because of his injuries and was taken for life-saving surgery, remaining to this day under specialist neurological care.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that Mr Gibbons’ “life and the lives of his loved ones will never be the same”. And Judge Charlotte Crangle, presiding, told dad of twin girls Dellot: “It’s a privilege to have children. A privilege denied to Mr Gibbons because of what you did on that night.”
Kevin Liston, prosecuting, told the court: “On December 20 last year the victim, Patrick Gibbons, was socialising in the Black Horse pub on County Road with colleagues from work. The evening had passed without incident when the victim went to stand by the front door, where the defendant was also standing.
“The defendant had been barred from the pub and was not allowed on the premises. The defendant was holding a pint glass bought at a different pub and carried along the road with him.” The court heard initially there was no issue between the two men but then the pair became “embroiled in a verbal exchange”, although the particulars about what the argument was about aren’t known because of Mr Gibbons’ condition.
The two men were kept apart before Mr Gibbons, now 24, ran towards Dellot close to an advertising board on County Road. Just seconds after Mr Gibbons approached him, Dellot struck him to the face while still holding the Carling glass, “causing it to break”.
Mr Liston told the court Mr Gibbons was still standing after the first strike, but was then hit with “repeated punches” by Dellot, before he was “knocked to the floor and lost consciousness”. The prosecution said Dellot connected with at least seven punches during the attack. Mr Liston continued: “The victim is described as lying, unresponsive on the floor and the defendant left the scene.”
The court heard Mr Gibbons regained consciousness and had a visible lump on his head. He was collected from the scene by his uncle and taken back to the home he shared with his mum, arriving back at 11.30pm. But around two hours later Mr Gibbons collapsed in his bathroom and started having seizures and foaming at the mouth.
“Unresponsive” Mr Gibbons was taken to Aintree University Hospital where he was found to have suffered a significant brain injury from an internal bleed. He was transferred in a coma to the specialist Walton Centre where he underwent life-saving surgery. The court heard he has since had four different operations.
Police forensics outside the Black Horse pub.(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Mr Liston told the court: “It’s sad to report his condition has not increased a great deal.” Mr Gibbons was said to be in the Walton Centre’s complex rehabilitation unit under deprivation of liberty safeguarding because he lacked capacity about his own treatment. The court heard he had ongoing speech difficulties, had to be fed through a tube and used a wheelchair for mobility. Mr Liston said the victim was “likely to remain with severe disability…in the long-term”.
Mr Gibbons’ mum Joanne Fairbrother bravely read a victim impact statement to the court, where she said her only child was “a good role model [who] worked hard and set a standard for the younger members of our family”. She said: “He was always an active boy, full of love and light. He has never brought trouble to my door. He was a good child and I’m proud of the man he became. He loved to be active…experiencing different parts of the world and cultures.”
Ms Fairbrother, who was supported in court by a number of her family, added: “On that fateful day that all ended for us. Patrick ran towards the man to have a verbal confrontation. My son has never been in a physical fight in his life. He has never brought trouble to my door. He is not a violent person and I can say that as his mum. The man decided to strike him to his head.
“What is heartbreaking is that the man continued to hit Patrick not one time, not two times, not three times, not four times, not five times, not six times, but seven times after striking him with a glass to the face. This man could have walked away after the first strike. He continued to hit Patrick all of those times until my son was knocked to the floor. It was only then that man walked away. The man did not even turn around and check if Patrick was alright or breathing.”
The devastated mum added: “I ask for justice today for Patrick and I ask that this man experiences prison just as my beloved son is experiencing everyday. He is locked every day in his head and his body.”
Patrick Gibbons(Image: Submitted)
The court heard Dellot, of Tithebarn Lane in Kirkby, had 10 convictions for 11 offences including for carrying a weapon in public and common assault. Mr Liston was subject to a suspended sentence on the assault conviction at the time of the attack on Mr Gibbons. The court heard the assault charge related to an incident in April 2023 where he told a woman he was a police officer to gain entry to her home to drink, before repeatedly punching and kicking her.
The court heard Dellot was initially charged with the more serious offence of section 18 wounding with intent. However, he pleaded guilty to the alternative count of section 20 inflicting grievous bodily harm two weeks before he was due to stand trial.
In mitigation, Fiona McNeill, defending, told the court: “No sentence however long will alter the devastating consequences and the torment to his family which we heard so graphically and emotionally described by his mother. Can I say this and it may not land well with the family, the impact of his actions are not lost upon the defendant and he does express remorse which he continues to express. I would submit that it is genuine and heartfelt remorse.”
Ms McNeill said “this was not a case he went out that night intending to commit such an awful crime with such tragic consequences”. Instead, she said Dellot believed he was “initially acting in self-defence” before the balance “well and truly tipped”. “It is on that basis he has accepted his guilt”, she added.
Ms McNeill said her client suffered with his mental health and medical professionals had said he may have been displaying psychotic symptoms at the time of the incident. She added her client had made efforts to address his mental health difficulties and had become abstinent from drugs and alcohol.
Ms McNeill told the court her client did not see his children every week but “one can’t underestimate the impact a custodial sentence will have on those twin girls”. She said that Dellot had a “heavy heart” about prison, adding it would “weigh more heavily and have a greater toll” because of his mental health.
Sentencing, Judge Crangle told the defendant, who wore a grey Under Armour tracksuit and sported black hair, that Mr Gibbons had “taken issue” to something he had said and had run towards him. But she added: “When he reached you his hands and arms were by his side and he was not offering immediate violence towards you.”
The judge said following the initial punch “Mr Gibbons was backing away with his arms by his side”. She continued: “There is no part of the footage where he threw a punch at him. You continued to punch him and your last punch hit him with so much force that he collapsed to the floor.”
And addressing Dellot’s culpability in terms of his mental health, she added: “It’s clear you knew you were struggling but at the time you were still choosing to take drugs and alcohol.”
Judge Crangle sentenced Dellot to three years and 11 months in prison for the assault and for breaching his suspended sentence. Dellot, who was supported in court by his mum and sister, muttered “thanks” when the judge told him to go to the cells with the dock officers.