A GAMBLER was jailed for 12 months on Monday after a bookmaker died following a row over a late bet in a Pagebet shop in Pelton, County Durham.
Jeffrey Hilland, 52, suffered a heart attack during the fracas and died in hospital four days later.
Trevor Hall, who had been drinking heavily and was three times over the drink-driving limit, wanted to place a bet on the 8.43pm greyhound race at Romford in Essex on June 2 last year, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
He was thwarted by Hilland, of South Moor, Stanley, County Durham, who told him he was too late to put money on the race.
Hall grew angry when his dog came first, and he realised he had missed out on the chance to win £60.
Christopher Knox, prosecuting, said Hall "took this badly".
"It would have been a successful bet and this was the central feature," he said.
Knox described how witnesses saw Hall shout at Hilland, calling him a "smartarse" before kicking through the partition that divided the counter from the shop floor, and smashing the wooden flap of the counter door.
He tried to throw a punch at the 52-year-old, before the pair were seen "grappling" behind the counter.
During the violence, buttons were ripped from Hilland's shirt and his tie was torn off, while Hall himself suffered a bloody nose.
Shortly after the encounter Hilland, described as "outgoing and extroverted, who would never look for trouble," suffered a heart attack and collapsed.
He was taken to University Hospital in North Durham, where he died of irreparable brain damage related to his heart attack, on June 6, 2008.
Hall,37, of Hilda Terrace, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, admitted to one count of affray at Newcastle Crown Court, for attacking Hilland in the shop in June last year.
At an earlier hearing, Hall was cleared of manslaughter because prosecutors were unable to prove Hilland's heart attack had not already started when Hall began his attack.
Paul Sloan QC, who appeared for Hall, told the Recorder of Newcastle, Judge David Hodson, that his client had been left "completely distraught" by Mr Hilland's death.
He told how Hall had tried to assist the bookmaker as soon as he realised he was seriously hurt.
Hall had helped the ambulance crew and begged them: "Do your best, don't stop, please help him", he told the court.
"Nothing I say can possibly provide any consolation for the family and the friends of Jeffrey Hilland, who have understandably held the defendant responsible for thedeceased's untimely death," Sloan said.
The barrister added that Hall had no way of knowing Hilland suffered from a bad heart, and could have collapsed at any moment.
"What must be clear is that Mr Hilland's collapse was never within this defendant's contemplation," he said.
Sentencing Hall, the judge described his actions as "thoroughly disgraceful, unacceptable and aggressive".
"It is inevitable that the family of Mr Hilland will forever hold you responsible for his death. It is entirely understandable that they would do that, but I sincerely hope that they will understand that you are not to be sentenced for unlawful killing.
"The sentence I will pass no doubt will seem wholly adequate, if not risible," he said.
"On June 2, you were being very drunk and aggressive. You spoke aggressively; you tried to throw a punch at Mr Hilland. So determined were you to get at Mr Hilland that you ripped off the flap of the counter," he added.
The Judge told Hall he gave him credit for pleading guilty, for the remorse he had shown for his actions, andfor how he tried to assist Mr Hilland once he realised he had suffered severe injury.
Hall, dressed smartly in a blue shirt and tie, listened with his head bowed as the Judge passed sentence.
Hilland's family, gathered in the public gallery, hugged each other as they watched Hall being sent down to cells.
