A Thankless Task…

…defending the actions of the underclass:

A man was attacked with a fence post after singing songs about Reading in a Didcot pub.

Martin Rendell and Adam Purse lay in wait for the victim after a group of men from the Berkshire town sang “We’re Reading, we’re Reading, we’ll kick your head in” at the Wallingford Arms, in Broadway.

Obviously, if opposing chants were heard, they must be too awful to see in print.

What does rhyme with ‘Didcot’ anyway?

Graham Bennett, defending, Purse, of Malvern Close,said: “The Reading group were plainly aggressive towards the Didcot group and challenged them in aggressive fashion before the violence ever took place.

“It was never Mr Purse's intention that matters should develop in this way.”

You’d have better luck with that argument if your client hadn’t have lain in wait for the victim afterwards, frankly…

James Reilly, defending Rendell, of The Oval, said it was “a drink-fuelled matter – a one-off”.

Oh, well, maybe that’s a bit more plausible?

Ah:

Rendell, who was jailed for three years in 2008 for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in Grove, was jailed for three years.

I guess not…