THREE Chester teenagers, who attacked a 16-year-old boy in Ellesmere Port hours before he died, were each sentenced to a young offenders institution on Tuesday, August 14.

Stewart Tallis, 19, of Faulkner Street, and 18-year-olds Nathan Green and Jamie Carter, of Dyserth Road and Brook Street respectively, had each admitted playing their part in the assault on 16-year-old Daniel Ferguson in the streets of Ellesmere Port in the early hours of March 9, 2017.

Judge Patrick Thompson, sitting at Chester Crown Court, said the teenage victim was "particularly vulnerable", having taken a number of drugs, including an MDMA pill which CCTV footage on the night showed him acquiring from Green.

Following the attack, Mr Ferguson's health declined as a result of the drugs overdose and, after being taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital at 4am, he had six cardiac arrests and sadly died.

Judge Thompson stressed that the three defendants were not on a manslaughter charge as the assault and the handover of the MDMA pill were not linked with the cause of Mr Ferguson's death.

But, speaking to the three defendants, he added: "This assault was cowardly, nasty and it's clear from your actions that none of you gave any thought to the welfare of Daniel Ferguson that night.

"This night had tragic consequences for him.

"If ever people needed an explanation of the consequences of class A drugs then this case is it – people behaving like wild animals while under the influence."

The court heard the attack began when Mr Ferguson threw a punch at Carter and his behaviour irritated the people in the group.

Carter pushed him to the ground and an assault commenced with punches and kicks.

All three were sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders institution for the attack.

However Green, who was 17 at the time of the assault, was also a dealer in class A drugs such as MDMA and LSD. Having admitted a number of drugs offences, he was therefore sentenced to a total of four years in a young offenders institution.

In addition Carter, who was also 17 at the time of the attack, had caused a public nuisance by scaling a 150ft crane in Hunter Street, Chester on the night of June 7 this year, as well as breaching a community order imposed for battery after he attacked his mother.

He was sentenced to two months in a young offenders institution for each of those offences, to be served consecutively, meaning his total sentence is 16 months.

The trio were part of a gang of five which attacked Mr Ferguson that night.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, had his eight-month detention and training order sentence cut down to six months in an appeal heard at Chester Crown Court last Friday (August 10).

Another 17-year-old boy received a 12-month rehabilitation order, plus court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £20, when his case was previously heard in the youth court.

Credit was given for the gang's guilty pleas, while their young ages at the time of the offence were taken into consideration when sentencing.