'Peacemaker' killed trying to break up fight

A "peacemaker" was killed when he was trying to break up a fight between two groups and punched from behind with a "hammer-like blow".

Liam Derrett, 19, died in hospital two days after trying to stop the mass brawl after leaving a pub in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, on 1 June 2025. Derby Crown Court heard he was struck by Joshua Harris, with some involved in the wider brawl cheering when Liam hit the ground.

Harris pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for six years, while co-defendant Kai Donachie, who punched Liam twice before the fatal blow, pleaded guilty to affray and was jailed for four months.

Sam Derrett, Liam's father, said: "He was needlessly taken from us - they acted like savages."

Liam's heart was restarted by paramedics at the scene in Market Place, but his life support was turned off after suffering a base skull fracture and brain injury.

In a family statement, Liam's father Sam said the family "will never fully recover and the consequences will last a lifetime".

Sentencing Harris, 24, and Donachie, 23, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: "Liam was acting as peacemaker, the CCTV clearly shows that.

"He had no chance to see the blow coming or to take any avoiding action. The blow was so hard it knocked him straight to the ground.

"This is a drunken brawl in a market place... drunken, yobbish violence which sadly had serious consequences for Liam - people are sick of it.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the time, it doesn't end in tragic consequences but that's what happened here."

The judge said Harris's actions were not impulsive but "calculating", while Donachie was told he could leave the dock as he had already spent six months in prison on remand.

The court was told Liam, from Kirk Hallam in Derbyshire, had spent time in the pub in Market Place and was spotted on CCTV waiting for friends to emerge.

Andrew Vout KC, for the prosecution, said "tension" between two groups not linked to Liam caused a fight that spilled into the street.

"Liam had never been involved in any of the two groups," he said.

"The two groups formed and faced each other, Liam was walking to the middle point between the groups and was trying to split it up."

Vout said witnesses had heard Liam say to them: "Stop fighting lads, chill out, it's not worth it."

He added: "Liam had not been involved in violence and was a peacemaker. Another said he was trying to calm the situation.

"Liam wasn't fighting or shouting - all of a sudden out of nowhere [Harris] struck him and it was loud above the noise of the commotion.

"He put his full body weight into it... it was a full force swinging punch with no warning which caused him to fall backwards hitting his head."

The prosecutor said some of Harris's associates shouted "yes Josh" as Liam was on the ground.

The court heard another witness said the punch, and Liam's impact with the ground, was a "loud and a sickening sound which sounded like a hammer hitting concrete".

The court heard Harris and Donachie were initially not involved with the start of the violence but later got involved.

Both men had initially been charged with murder in the days after the fight, but new charges were accepted by the prosecution during a hearing in October.

Harris, of Little Hallam Lane in Ilkeston, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was described in mitigation as someone who was "deeply remorseful" for what he had done, and wrote a letter to the judge expressing his guilt.

Donachie, of Bilborough Road in Nottingham, admitted affray.

In a statement read out to the court, Sam Derrett - Liam's father - said: "Nothing I say will come close to expressing about how we feel about losing Liam.

"He was an amazing child, cheeky, lively, funny and always made us smile.

"He saw the positive in everything and everyone - it was a beautiful trait. He was lovely to be around.

"Liam never got into any trouble - not a detention or got into a fight with anyone. He did not make enemies.

"That day changed our lives for ever, it is a moment we will never forget. I would not wish it upon anyone."

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