Man jailed for causing death of former army sergeant major after argument over food
A man has been jailed after pleading guilty to manslaughter after assaulting a friend in a pub beer garden in an argument over food.
34 year-old Liam Slack, of Langton Brow, Eccleston, Chorley was jailed for four years and two months.He will have to serve a minimum of two thirds of that term before being considered for parole.
57 year-old Paul Ainscough, who served in the British Army for 24 years, was found deceased at his home in Chorley in 2024.
The incident came to light when Paul's son went through his phone and found messages which indicated there had been an argument between the pair when they had been out drinking together in Leyland on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd June.
In two of the replies sent by Paul in the exchange of messages, he wrote: “You scoffed your chicken then without asking started to grab mine.
“Then you threw my rucksack and as I got up to retrieve it you attacked me, pushing me into a solid wooden fence breaking my ribs on the right side. I can hardly move.”
Paul’s son reported the finding of the messages to Lancashire Police and an investigation into his death was launched.
A postmortem found that the cause of Paul’s death was blunt force trauma to the chest, with him having suffered multiple fractures to his posterior right ribs.
In a victim impact statement, Paul’s son Mark said: “Our Dad/Paul was our hero and the person who loved us more than anyone in the world.
“He was a proud granddad, he adored his grandchildren and used to love seeing them, buying them gifts and sharing stories with them about his time in the army.
“Our dad was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army where he served his country for 24 years with courage and honour.”
In reference to Slack, Mark continued: “My dad over his years had faced numerous dangerous situations, in the army and also as a police officer but nothing like what you have done.
“You attacked my dad when he was off guard which is despicable, he was vulnerable you knew that.”
Det Insp Marc Armstrong of our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Liam Slack was responsible for Paul’s death and he now starting a sentence of imprisonment.
“This has been a traumatic time for Paul’s family and the trauma of losing a much-loved man will continue. My thoughts are very much with them.
“I’d like to thank the public who came forward during the investigation and provided statements which enable us to establish what happened on that afternoon in June 2024 and helped bring Slack to justice.”