Thugs get soft sentences as hero is paid just £700

Feb 7 2010 by Neil McKay, Sunday Sun

A HEROIC dad who was beaten unconscious by a gang of seven schoolchildren as he tried to protect his wife will receive just £700 in compensation from his attackers.

Lee Cavagan was left with a fractured cheekbone, broken nose and ruptured cornea from the onslaught by the thugs, all aged just 14, 15, and 16.

Yet six boys and one girl involved in the brutal assault in Pelton, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, have escaped harsh sentences, instead being handed down referral orders at a youth court hearing.

Last night, Lee said he hoped their convictions would bring an end to yob culture in the village.

He said: “I don’t blame the police, they do their best, but these are youths so their hands are tied. “

The step-dad-of-two had gone outside to watch over his wife Tracy while she warned off the vandals, who had moments earlier hurled a brick through a window of the pub where she works in Pelton.

Instead of respectfully listening to the self-employed electrician and trying to make amends for their damage, the out-of-control gang turned on Lee and beat him.

Even when his own safety was put in danger he refused to resort to throwing punches at the louts.

Lee, who had been watching football inside the pub, recalled: “I knew the bar had been having lots of problems with the kids, but I wasn’t really involved because I work away.

“Things started getting out of hand when they threw a brick through the back window of the pub. My wife was obviously really concerned so she went outside with one of the regulars.