THE gang who brutally beat an innocent man unconscious in an unprovoked attack had been on a 12-hour booze binge, the M.E.N can reveal.
As we revealed yesterday, shocking CCTV pictures show the gang punching the 27-year-old victim to the floor before repeatedly stamping on his head and kicking him in the face.
As the victim lies motionless on the floor in Rochdale town centre, ringleader of the gang Gemma Stafford rifles through his pockets for money and his mobile phone.
Now it has emerged that the gang drank a cocktail of spirits, shots and chasers at a disused warehouse close to the town centre before carrying out the attack.
It is thought they may have consumed up to a bottle of spirits each.
After the binge drinking session they headed into Yorkshire Street in the town centre marauding and challenging anyone in their path.
It is understood ringleader Stafford held sway over other members of the group.
A police source said that it was clear that she had robbery on her mind.
Gruesome
CCTV footage that captured the gruesome incident shows her making a phone gesture to her ear.
Stafford, whose parents are separated, was seen as the brains of the outfit while Stuart Shaw, 20, nicknamed `Chuckie', was the brawn alongside other male members of the group.
Stafford, of Hilltop Drive, Kirkholt, Rochdale, was said to have denied any involvement in the incident through questioning until being confronted with the clear CCTV evidence.
She was said to have a calm, assuring and dangerous presence.
It is understood that Shaw had been moved away from Rochdale to a house in Heywood over fears that he was mixing with the wrong crowd.
Stafford was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder and theft at Bolton Crown Court.
The rest of the gang were jailed for between four years and 18 months for assault and violent disorder.
The sickening images have sparked outrage and prompted a barrage of comments to the M.E.N website.
'Massive letdown'
Former councillor and Kirkholt campaigner Darren Pedley described the attack as `a massive letdown for the area'.
He said: "Its things like this that really bring the estate down. We're putting in a lot of hard work here, and then suddenly somebody does something like this and it's all undone.
"I walk through this estate at 2am many a morning and don't feel threatened at all. We're not all like that. At one point we had problems with the fire service having rocks thrown at them, but we stood up against it. More than 40 people came forward and named the same person. There are lots of good people here."
Paul Rowen, MP for Rochdale, described the attack as `disgusting and cowardly'.
He added: "It puts the name of Rochdale in a bad light. Fortunately, incidents like this are few and far between."
MP for Heywood & Middleton, Jim Dobbin, added: "I'm pleased that the CCTV proved effective in catching the perpetrators behind such an horrific assault.
"Such violent, unprovoked behaviour deserves the stiffest sentence. GMP deserve praise for obtaining a prosecution."
Detective Sergeant Lee Johnson, the lead investigator in the case, said that the group drank so much that they would have no responsibility for their actions.
He added that the case was a tribute to the financial investment Rochdale Council had made into installing surveillance cameras.
DS Johnson said: "It can be intrusive and there is the Big Brother argument of an invasion of privacy.
"But the fact remains if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to fear.
"The high quality system that we have in Rochdale was vital in securing a conviction in this case. The message to come from this should not be that if you go out in Rochdale this thing may happen. The message should be that if you act irresponsibly in Rochdale then you will be caught."
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Every state school in the country is now required to have a "gender equality" policy to make sure that the girls are becoming as bad as the boys and this is one government policy that is working. Girls are certainly showing that they can be just as violent as boys if given the right encouragement and opportunities. Another victory for new Labour's attack on traditional values
here we are again blameing single parents i can assure you m.e.n that single parenting had nothing to do with this attack and that the mother and father of the g.s are disgusted with her behaviour and are desent working class people agin thanks m.e.n for showing the comments i posted last night
if thats the case voter how come not much has been highlighted about the boys actions and g.s seems to be being used as an example the boys commited the crime too and im glad m.e.n you got the sentanceing right this time thankyou for rectifying the error!
What a joke. 18 months? She should not see daylight for at least ten years. As for the rest of the gang - execute them.
Vile,sub-human filth with no conscience,morals,compassion,empathy or "usefulness" to civilised society.Cockroaches like these deserve no second-chances,and should be left to rot in a filthy,stinking hell-hole as an example to the rest of the scum that infest our streets looking for easy "victims."
it is nine peter im visiting her today she was very very wrong for what she did but i personally know how this is affecting her and havedone over the past five mths before sentanceing
big words unpalatble truth think you bin watching scarface the movie too many times COCKAROACH!
if she is the ring leader and the "brains" of the outfit then surely she should have got a more severe sentence. This is disgusting. For people who do this kind of thing, it is not about being caught there is no deterrant of a serving a third 18 month cushy life in prison (where I am lead to believe people are PAID TO BE IN PRISON??) it is about stopping people being violent in the first place.
If people can't benefit society then society should bring back the death penalty. We are getting more like America, so why not go the whole hog and electrocute these people who are a waste of society's resources until they are dead.
Nipple-get a life you SAD apologist.I don't give a monkeys about any personal connection you may have to these scumbags-that's what they are..The evidence is there in front of your nose!!!Decent people are sick to the back teeth of vermin like this being in control of the streets....it's time for them to be re-claimed so that the the "people" who perpetrate these disgusting crimes without fear or remorse get a taste of their own medicine when caught.Let them ROT.
I can't tell you how many times I have been into town on a Saturday afternoon/evening for a nice walk and a few beers... I can usually neck a dozen or so while I'm at it, but I have NEVER EVER even THOUGHT about any type of violent behaviour.
Bring back the stocks and let us show them what we think of them.
Nipple, go visit her victim instead.
A H do you believe everything you read in the newspapers?
unpalable truth ithink that your mistaken when you think i care what you think and not ansering to a do gooder who obviously has a very sad life thereself writing comments about things that they dnt even have a clue about there is another 5 to 6 mins of cctv that isnt shown before the incident occures i have seen it until m.e.n get this footage i suggest you have no room for comment pal!
Nipple - You are obviously very close to the family involved, and I do not doubt that there is remorse and disgust. However, someone is to blame - these things don't just happen by accident. Someone has to be accountable, if it's not the girl then it's the parents. The area is not the reason - I was brought up and lived in some very rough areas of Manchester (Openshaw, Beswick, Burnage, Crumpsall). Although there was some delinquency, there was never this type of crime, and for a girl to be involved would have been unimaginable. The latest figures show that the number of females involved in violent crime has doubled in the past 8 years.
Nipple - stop defending these people and admit that someone is to blame - have another look at the CCTV pictures, especially the part where this misunderstood and remorseful female is robbing the INNOCENT victim after her gang have beaten and kicked him unconscious.
These people are a disease that need to be eradicated. Blaming parents is just another way of making excuses for them and allowing them not to take responsibility for their disgusting actions. If the whole gang were gasses/hanged/ burned no decent person would lose a moment's sleep. It's not like we're short on people in this country. Taking these vermin out permanently would make Britain a better place for the rest of us to live and make them think twice before doing this in the first place.
Did they get such light sentences because the victim survived this cowardly attack? Where are the deterrents. This poor lad will probably spend the rest of his life living in fear.
A judge announced to would-be drink-drivers last year that he will not be swayed by any remorse in court. He will ignore any pleas by any defendant about "slips of judgement" etc. Tears, trembling and apologies would make no difference to his determination to inflict the maximum sentence.
Well, I have little sympathy with drink-drivers, but surely this kind of thing is a different kettle of fish altogether. The fact that these animals were boozed-up should not carry a gramme of mitigation. They hid behind alcohol to carry out their deeds.
They are inherently evil, and it matters not whether they had single-parents or four sets of parents. They knew what they were doing as they put every boot into this guy.
It's in the national press today that courts in London are slack to the tune of 50% on last year as the Police are handing out all kinds of penalty tickets instead of going for the criminals. Mind you, we all know there are no prison places anyway, so just give 'em a ticket and the job's done. In the name of pure targets, there is no deterrence. Therefore this kind of thing will continue.
The more I watch that video of the attack, the more I think that this wasn't a robbery, but attempted murder. If Gemma 'Myra' Stafford was the 'brains' of the outfit, then she should have received a longer sentence then the others to reflect the fact she drove them into it.
And disgusted her parents should be nipple. I no longer live there, but I can't believe how Rochdale had deteriorated in the past 10 years. Not unlike other towns. But the behaviour once seen in isolated big city no-go areas is now common everywhere.
Sorry, but to beat an innocent bystander senseless, to the point that he could easily have died, and then rob him whilst he is in that state - ther can be no excuse. Please don't defend her. You too should be sickened by what she did.
Stick them on an island off the west coast of scotland with all the other scum and vermin and let nature take its coarse.
Vile scumbags is the right description.
m.e.n why stop putting comments again
nipple rochdale
why dont you watch the video again and just watch these scumbags kicking this guys head in like a ball!!, then look at you so called friend going through his pockets while hes there unconcious, you really are a silly individual if your going to back what she did. she desrves a longer scentence and remember if it was you lieing on the floor half dead how would you feel??
Nipple, watch the video, again and again. Whilst that ugly excuse for a human Stafford goes through the victims pockets, another repeatedly kicks the persons already limp head. Stafford would have heard the thud off the head, but continued robbing the victim. She's scum, drunk or otherwise. At least I have the pleasure in knowing her life will probably now be nothing more then benefits, more booze and unhappiness.
It's a shame that these people don't pick the wrong person one day.
I was ambushed by four lads once and they picked the wrong person that day. One minute there the big hard men, the next they are crying like babies. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
How brave is it for this gang to pick on a lone individual?