A man has admitted the manslaughter of a pensioner who died after an incident in a Huddersfield street earlier this year.
Jacob Crawshaw, 31 of Emscote Avenue, Halifax pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court this morning to unlawfully killing Adrian Smith on May 14.
Mr Smith, 69, struck his head on the ground after he was punched in the face after leaving a town centre public house. He died of his injuries in Leeds General Infirmary following the assault in New Street.
Initially the case was stood down to see if a pre-sentence report could be prepared and given verbally by a probation officer but it was then agreed to adjourn sentence for a full report until next month.
Crawshaw was not brought back into court for the adjournment but remanding him in custody, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC asked his counsel Frida Hussain to tell him the decision.
“The fact I am adjourning for a report does not mean anything other than immediate custody will follow.”
He ordered Crawshaw to be produced in court for the sentence rather than appear over a video link.
Retired road sweeper Mr Smith was described by family and friends one of life’s real ‘free thinkers.’
The 69-year-old lost his fight for life in hospital hours after he was attacked in Huddersfield town centre.
Mr Smith – who cleaned the streets for 30 years, mainly in Holmfirth and Honley – suffered head injuries and died the next day.
Miles Taylor, 51, of Honley, who was friends with Adrian for 30 years, recalled working with Adrian in 1986 clearing and landscaping the former tractor park at David Brown’s tractor plant at Meltham Mills.
Mr Taylor said: “Adrian would have a bowl of porridge for breakfast, run from his home at Cinderhills all the way to Meltham to do a day’s work and run back again – five days a week. He was an extremely fit bloke, even as a 69-year-old.
“He was a real free thinker, but he had his moments of depression. He would ring me up and we would go for walks or sit outside the house talking. He was a really interesting bloke.
“He was really proud of his job. He said he had the best job in the world sweeping the Holme Valley streets.”
Friends also paid heartfelt tributes to a man who decorated his dust cart in flowers and made his own clothing out of duct tape.
They hope to create a permanent memorial in the town to Mr Smith.
