Then gloated: 'He deserves it'

A teenager pushed disabled comedian Jack Carroll to the floor after having a picture taken with him, then gloated: ‘He deserved it.’

Carroll, who has cerebral palsy, ended up on the floor with his walking frame on top of him following the attack on a Huddersfield street.

Elliott O’Kane, 19,  pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, as Kirklees Magistrates Court heard about the vile tweets – including the ‘he deserved it’ line – that he posted after the incident

Carroll, who shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent, had been enjoying a night out with friends in Huddersfield town centre on December 22. But as he made his way to a taxi rank to get a cab home, he was approached by a group of strangers.

Bill Astin, prosecuting, said: ‘The group asked if they could have a photo of them with him, he obliged and they took their shots.’

Carroll described how one of the members of the group, O’Kane, then became aggressive towards him.

The comic responded by stepping back and telling him to ‘leave it,’ then said: ‘He pushed me with both hands causing me to fall over onto my bum.

‘My frame fell on top of me. A crowd watched and as he pushed me he shouted "fuck off."’

Jack was helped to his feet by a witness

Mr Astin said that Carroll was subsequently made aware of the tweets posted   by O’Kane.

He added: ‘The victim said that these upset him. Since the incident he has increased anxiety, had pain for a few days and the night has impacted on his social life. Members of the public were present and he must have found it humiliating.’

Carroll, now 18, gained recognition at the age of 14 when he became  runner-up in the seventh series of Britain’s Got Talent. He went on to appear as a regular in Sky 1 sitcom Trollied.

Beth Lancaster, mitigating, said O’Kane was ‘incredibly remorseful’ for his actions, saying: ‘He would like to pass onto the victim that he’s sorry for what happened and it was wholly out of character. It was an alcohol fuelled incident and his whole life will be affected.

‘His Twitter comments were not helpful but how they read were not how they were intended – they were meant as a joke.’

Magistrates sentenced O’Kane to a community order with 40 hours of unpaid work. He must pay Jack £100 compensation as well as £85 costs and victim surcharge.

O’Kane and Carroll had been at school together, but were in different years.

© MEN Syndication

Published: 17 Feb 2017