Moments before man killed 'gentle giant' brother with one punch at Lancashire pub were caught on camera

This is the moment a man calls his younger brother over for a drunken "play-fight" at a pub before killing him with one punch.

Brent Clayton, 62, had been enjoying an evening drinking with his younger brother Simon, 58, at Waterfoot Social Club in Rossendale, Lancashire.

But after consuming a large amount of alcohol, they decided to play-fight, leading to Clayton punching Simon in the face, causing him to collapse and bang his head on the floor, a court heard.

Chilling CCTV shows Clayton shadow-boxing in a function room before raising his arm and calling over his brother.

Tragically, Simon died the next day as a result of his injuries.

Yesterday (Oct 14) Clayton, of Taylor Avenue, Rossendale, was jailed for four years at Preston Crown Court after previously being found guilty of his manslaughter following a trail.

Sentencing Clayton, Judge Robert Altham told Clayton, said: "You've lost your brother. Whilst you needlessly brought that about, you will feel the pain of that for the rest of your life.

"You claimed you acted in self-defence, which was contradicted by the CCTV and your comments to the police on the night.

"You said, 'When someone assaults you, what do you do? Knock them out'.

"I am sure this was not a case of you using excessive force. I am sure you did not genuinely believe you needed to defend yourself."

During the trial at Preston Crown Court, jurors were told the brothers had spent much of the day drinking before bumping into each other and going to the club in the evening.

By 11:30pm both had consumed a large amount of alcohol and Simon was unsteady on his feet, the court heard.

CCTV footage taken from inside the boozer on Saturday, November 23, 2024 shows Clayton shadow boxing inside a nearby function room and calling his brother over to join him.

Other video - mentioned in court - showed Simon reluctantly standing, and the two then appeared to playfight on Saturday, November 23, 2024.

But events escalated after Simon “catches” Clayton on his lip.

Clayton then moves forward and throws a hard punch to Simon’s face, causing him to drop his arms. He then throws one more, pushing Simon backwards, causing him to hit his head on the floor. Clayton can then be seen raising his arms up in victory.

Witnesses later said that when they got into the room to see Simon on the floor Clayton told them that Simon had hit him first, before telling the witness not to call an ambulance because “he will get up in a minute”.

Witnesses only called 999 for help after he continued not responding. Emergency services arrived at the scene for 11:45 pm.

Clayton was arrested at the scene and placed into the back of a police van.

From bodycam footage from an officer, Clayton can be heard saying: "I know it's my brother. At the end of the day he hit me first."

Simon was rushed to hospital but was unable to survive his injuries and sadly died the next day on Sunday, November 24.

In a victim impact statement, his wife Gaynor said: “Simon was larger than life and an extremely hard worker. He loved having a laugh. He had a way of making you smile and bringing life into a room.

“He was the sort of person who would do anything for anyone, and I mean anything. If somebody needed help, Simon would be there and would help people without expecting anything in return. He never did it because he wanted recognition or because he expected something back. Helping people was simply the kind of person he was a gentle giant.”

A Home Office post-mortem examination determined that Simon had died from a hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury due to cardiac arrest and blunt force trauma to the head, with acute alcohol intoxication being a contributing factor.

Clayton was first arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm before his brother died, telling officers in custody that he had ‘chinned’ and ‘upper cut’ his brother.

In that interview he gave a prepared statement, telling our officers he was distraught at learning his brother was in a critical condition and did not feel he could answer any further questions.

He claimed he had only wanted to play fight with his brother and never intended to hurt him. He went on to provide no comment answers to the questions our detectives put to him, police say.

In a second interview, still before Simon died, Clayton gave another prepared statement, maintaining his upset, expressing remorse and saying he believed this was a play fight that escalated whilst both had been drunk.

In his final interview on 27th November after Simon had died and Clayton had been arrested on suspicion of murder, Clayton continued giving a prepared statement to say he was distraught at what had happened and didn’t feel he could answer any police questions.

Following a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Brent Clayton, of Taylor Avenue, Rossendale, was charged with manslaughter.

He pleaded not guilty at Preston Crown Court, maintaining his innocence, but a jury found him guilty of manslaughter.

DI Tris Hardwick, of our Force Major Investigation Team, said: "Brent Clayton didn’t set out that night to kill his brother, we know that.

"This is a tragic example of how reckless behaviour when drunk can end so badly."