Simon Taylor and his accomplice Kevin O'Dea were both convicted of manslaughter after a two-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court. The 22-year-olds were both jailed for seven years each.

Simon Taylor and Kevin O'Dea, both 22, were convicted of the manslaughter of Sion Hardy, 24, after they attacked him in a Liverpool city centre underpass last November.

Mr Hardy, a civic design student at Liverpool University, was rushed to hospital but died from a heavy blow to the left side of his neck.

The trial heard he was the innocent victim of a group attack that was intended for his friend Stephen Lunne after a nightclub altercation.
O'Dea, a part-time model and corporate host at Manchester United, was said to be "central'' in the proceedings.

He had rowed with Mr Lunne and wanted revenge, the prosecution claimed, and launched the assault in the underpass along with Taylor, Richard Faustino and Thomas Canning.

Despite Faustino and Canning being named in the trial as jointly responsible, they were never charged.

Taylor, of Ashton-in-Makerfield, admitted punching Mr Hardy in the face three times but only in self defence.

After 12 hours and 57 minutes deliberation, the jury of nine women and three men delivered their final verdict.

They had already found Taylor, who has previous convictions for
assaulting a policeman, unanimously guilty of manslaughter but cleared him of murder. He closed his eyes and looked stunned on hearing the verdict.

When the guilty verdict came back for O'Dea, of Co Donegal, he broke down in tears and his family and friends sobbed loudly in the public gallery.

The jury foreman also broke down in tears and there were shouts of "Yes,'' from the victim's family. O'Dea had earlier had the murder charge against him dropped.

Judge Henry Globe QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, said: "It is a sad fact of society today that the incidence of violence is frequently fuelled by excess alcohol.

He added: "It is a worrying feature for all sections of the public and more so for parents of students who go away from home to study.''
Recalling the night of the killing, he added: "Inside the club there was a minor altercation with nothing more serious than bumping and pushing on the dancefloor.''

It "exploded'' outside, he said, and added it was difficult to understand why only O'Dea and Taylor were charged.
The attack had sickened female witnesses and damaged Liverpool's good reputation, the judge added.

"Sion Hardy was effectively an innocent bystander,'' he went on. It has led to the wasteful loss of life of a student of promise, heartache, shock and distress to all members of his family.

"It has damaged the reputation of this city as a safe place for students and increased anxiety of parents of students coming to this city.''

Outside court the Hardy family issued a statement saying: "Sion was a special, unique and happy person and we feel honoured to have had him in our lives.

"He was adored by both his family and friends and his death has had a devastating affect on us all.
"Society needs to be aware of the detrimental affects our streets can have on innocent victims and their families.

"Sion was so positive and working towards a promising career. He had such a bright future ahead of him – that has all been taken away in a moment."