THREE men responsible for a sickening, bloody and 'disgraceful' late-night attack on a clubber in Weston have escaped jail terms

THREE men responsible for a sickening, bloody and 'disgraceful' late-night attack on a clubber in Weston have escaped jail terms.Paul Chidgey, Robert Sneddon and Simon Fulbrook were all given community sentences for the appalling assault - when even a judge admitted they should be put behind bars.The trio beat a man in Weston town centre, pummelling him with more than 20 punches to the head and body, kicking him relentlessly and even hitting him with his own shoe. Two of the group walked away with their trainers covered in bloodstains. Police also found two of them had nearly £200 worth of drugs on them.Judge Darwin-Smith said the three deserved to go to jail but, because there was a slight element of provocation involved, they were given community sentences.The attack happened after the group had been thrown out of Destiny nightclub in Beach Road after a night of drinking lager. They had also watched a cage fighting event in the Winter Gardens earlier in the evening. The three men hurled death threats at the victim as they left the club. The victim responded by shouting: "Come on then."After the shocking incident, the victim could not drive, walk, see or speak properly. He suffered bad swelling and bruising to his face and ribs.As he sentenced the trio at Bristol Crown Court, the judge said: "This was a disgraceful incident and the only reason you're not going to prison is because the victim involved was to some extent provocative."This does not excuse your disgraceful behaviour though. If you miss appointments for your unpaid work or breach your curfews inside you will go. If you commit any sort of offence like this again, inside you will go." Chidgey, aged 24, of Bridgwater, admitted charges of affray, possession of cannabis and possession of cocaine. He was handed an 18-month community sentence with a supervision order, ordered to attend the Think First programme for offenders, ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and was also given a curfew order with electronic tagging for six months between the hours of 6pm and 6am.Sneddon, aged 27, of The Causeway, Mark, pleaded guilty to charges of affray and possession of cannabis. He was given a two-year community sentence with a supervision order, ordered to attend aggression replacement training, told to complete 150 hours unpaid work and was also given a six-month curfew between the hours of 6pm and 6am.Fulbrook, aged 20, also of Bridgwater, admitted one charge of affray. He was handed an 18-month community sentence with a supervision order, was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and was given a six-month curfew order between the hours of 10.30pm and 5am.