Man died three years after attack by teenagers

A CLEANER spent three years in a vegetative state until his death – after he was punched to the head following a confrontation with three teenagers.

Yesterday, an inquest into Kevin Howarth's death found that the blow he received, on January 27, 2006, directly led to his death on December 18 last year.

Mr Howarth, formerly of Timbrell Avenue, Crewe, died at Scotia Heights nursing home in Burslem, aged 46.

The inquest, held in Crewe, heard Mr Howarth, an industrial cleaner at Cheshire firm Alpha, had stopped on Badger Avenue to visit the Co-op Late Shop, for some snacks.

Mr Howarth's work colleague, Shirley Parker, of Crewe's West End, told the inquest Mr Howarth had become agitated when a 13-year-old boy had rode up to the shop on his bike. She told the inquest the boy had braked hard to avoid running into the shop window. But in a statement to police, she said the boy rode at them, braking at the last second, "trying to frighten us".

She said: "Kevin asked me to help him, 'sort the kids out'. I told him to leave it. I tried to distract him, but he wasn't having it."

When Miss Parker left the shop, Mr Howarth was lying on the floor, semi-conscious and bleeding from a head wound.

Shaun Yates, of Crewe, who also worked with Mr Howarth, was waiting in a car while his colleagues visited the shop.

He said: "I remember seeing three lads crowding round Kevin. I thought he was in trouble. As I ran over there, one of the lads hit him. He fell to the ground and smashed his skull on the concrete."

The 13-year-old boys said in a police statement at the time that he had been punched by Mr Howarth.

He told the inquest he could no longer remember what had happened.

The boy's older brother, now aged 18, said: "My little brother was holding his face, he said the man had hit him. I said, 'what have you done that for'? He said, 'do you want a go as well'? I said 'you're an old man, I don't want any trouble'.

"He kept coming forward. In the end I hit him to protect myself, I didn't know what else to do. Then we got on our bikes and went."

The teenager denied rounding on Mr Howarth with his two friends. He also denied being angry at the perceived assault on his younger brother.

Mr Howarth was taken by ambulance to Leighton Hospital, where he was described as being in a "vegetative state". His condition remained the same until his death last year.

Detective Constable Richard Gibson said CCTV footage was inconclusive.

Dr Richard Thorley-Shepherd, who conducted the post-mortem, said cause of death was bronchopneumonia, caused by a severe head injury.

Cheshire Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said he would have recorded a verdict of unlawful death, if it could be proven Mr Howarth was attacked aggressively.

He recorded a narrative verdict, that: "Kevin Howarth was injured by a blow struck to his head. He fell to the ground and struck his head. As a consequence of his injury he later died."

Mr Rheinberg said: "It is not possible for me to interpret whether that punch was an act of aggression or self-defence."

Cheshire Police has no plans to investigate the cause of Mr Howarth's death.