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'Booze turned my son into a murderer'

Thursday 28 February 2008

Stephen Sorton The mothers of two of the drunken teenagers who kicked dad Garry Newlove to death have blamed Britain’s teen binge-drinking culture for the tragedy.

Dad-of-three Garry was set upon in front of his horrified family after tackling the yobs – who’d spent the evening downing super-strength lager and cider – for vandalising a neighbour’s car.

As Adam Swellings, 19, Stephen Sorton, 17, and 16-year-old Jordan Cunliffe were jailed earlier this month for Garry’s murder, his widow Helen, 46, called for an end to the teenage drinking blighting the lives of families and insisted parents should take responsibility for their children.

'Not capable of violence'

Now the mothers of Sorton and Swellings have spoken exclusively to Closer – after we launched a campaign to halt the trend of teen boozing – claiming their sons wouldn’t have been capable of the sickening attack if they had not been drunk.

“My son’s not a monster,” insists dinner lady Margaret Sorton, 42, who informed the police about her son’s involvement in Garry’s killing. She adds: “The boy I know is not capable of violence, but kids act differently when they’ve been boozing.”

Shockingly, the single mum claims she didn’t know the scale of her son’s drinking. She says: “I didn’t know he was drinking that much. Now he’s going to pay for a drunken mistake for the rest of his life.”

Margaret – who raised her son alone after splitting from his father, Mark, 43, a tyre fitter, when he was young – says: “I have sympathy for Helen. We wish it had never happened, but we can’t turn back the clock. Despite what he’s done, my son is a good lad. This has destroyed his, and my, life. The other boys are also from decent families. I can only think drink was to blame.”

And Sue Swellings, 43, whose son Adam was the ringleader of the gang, tells Closer: “I couldn’t control my son when he’d been drinking. If I told him to stop, he’d tell me to ‘f*** off.’ They were all drunk that night – that’s the only reason I think the violence started.”

During the trial, Chester Crown Court heard how the gang roamed the streets looking for trouble, drunk on cheap, strong booze and high on cannabis. On the night of the attack, jobless Swellings downed four litres of cider and smoked five spliffs. Sorton drank around 10 bottles of the strong lager Stella Artois and a three-litre bottle of cider.''I can only think drink was to blame'

Entertainment

The drunken yobs kicked Garry’s head like a football last August when he confronted them over vandalism outside his detached home in Warrington, Cheshire.

The attack was so ferocious that Garry, who also leaves behind daughters Zoe, 18, Danielle, 16, and Amy, 13, died two days later with an imprint of Sorton’s trainer still on his forehead.

After the trio were convicted of murder, Judge Andrew Smith told them: “You were only so brave because you outnumbered [Garry] many times over and were fuelled by cannabis and cheap drink. For you all, drunken aggression was part of the night’s entertainment.”

Swellings, who fell asleep for 20 minutes in court as details of his violence were read out, must spend 17 years inside, while Sorton and Cunliffe will serve a minimum of 15 and 12 years respectively.

Helen has since moved her family from the area and has launched a fierce attack on parents who fail to control their children. She says: “Garry and I brought up our girls to not walk the streets drinking and [use] abusive language.”

Garry had concerns about a nearby subway being a magnet for drunk and troublesome teenagers when they bought the house, but chose it to be close to his elderly in-laws. The Newlove family’s cars were scratched or had wing mirrors smashed on at least four occasions before Garry’s murder.

Fight to the death

But now, in a blow to Garry’s widow, Swellings’ family have launched an appeal – at the taxpayers’ expense – against his conviction. Helen, who admits she’s considered suicide, is dismayed.

“I hope to God no court takes them seriously,” she says. “I’ll fight to my dying breath to make sure they never walk the streets again.”

Words: Suzanne Finney

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