TWO men avoided going straight to prison despite being involved in a fight outside Basingstoke railway station.

Kevin Roche and Charles Bee were in the dock at Winchester Crown Court after admitting their roles in a fight that was captured on CCTV and watched by members of the public.

Roche was seen to attack a man called Adam West, leaving him with a broken wrist and cut on his forehead, while Bee used his walking stick to hit David Williams, an off-duty firefighter who had tried to break up the initial fight.

Stuart Ellacott, prosecuting, said it began when Mr West approached Roche, who was sitting on a bench outside the railway station, at around midnight on October 12 last year.

The court heard that the two men, who did not know each other, starting grappling, at which point Mr Williams tried to intervene.

Mr Ellacott said Bee then got involved, wrestling with Mr Williams before chasing him away from the railway station, brandishing his walking stick which he used to twice hit Mr Williams.

Meanwhile the now shirtless Roche and Mr West continued their fight, which ended when members of the public stepped in.

Mr Ellacott said: “Roche hung around (afterwards). One of the witnesses described Roche as saying, ‘He deserves it, he won’t try that again. I don’t care, I will wait for the coppers,’ which he did.”

The court heard that the men, both aged 43 and of Shelley Close, Popley, Basingstoke, had previous convictions and suffered from physical and mental health problems.

Robert Bolton, defending Roche, said his client was on a particular type of medication for his depression that had made him angry at the time.

Frank Abbott said his client Bee was “very much a secondary partner” in the incident, and had only intervened because he thought Mr Williams was the aggressor.

Judge Andrew Barnett gave Roche a 16-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, for wounding with intent, and gave Bee an 11-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, for affray.

Both men were given supervision orders, while Roche received a curfew order for three months.