Videos: Racist Bristol scum beat Asian shopkeepers

Three teenage Bristol thugs brutally beat four Asian shopkeepers and screamed racist abuse at them.

They then laughed and joked as a court was told of their sickening assaults.

Nicholas Gardener, 17, and twins Justin and Luke Lovedale, 17, all had their identity protected by a court order when they first appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court. But the Evening Post fought to have the ban lifted and won the right to name, shame and picture the trio of racist scum. We have been prevented from revealing where they live in south Bristol.

During a night of violence in Bedminster on June 6 this year, the three teenagers attacked shopkeepers at two different shops.

In the short space of an hour, the two brothers – who were 16 at the time – punched and kicked a member of staff in Bargain Booze in West Street, before Gardener joined them in an unprovoked attack on two shopkeepers at Costcutter in North Street.

On each occasion they shouted horrific racist abuse at their victims.

Just two months before, on April 5, Gardener, who has 19 previous convictions, carried out a similar attack at the same Costcutter shop.

Following a three-day trial, District Judge David Parsons found all three defendants guilty of racially aggravated common assault in both shops.

He agreed to lift the order banning their identification, saying the protection of the community outweighed the teenagers' interests.

The court heard Gardener and another unidentified youth went to Costcutter in North Street on April 5. When shopkeeper Hardik Patel went outside, Gardener punched him to the ground and punched him twice more as he shouted "You f****** Paki". The other youth then kicked him three times in the stomach, and as they ran away Gardener shouted: "I will kill you, you f****** Paki."

Two months later, on June 6, the Lovedale twins and Gardener – the boyfriend of the brothers' sister – went to Bargain Booze in West Street at 10.30pm to buy cigarettes and vodka.

Staff refused to serve them and Gardener, who was out on bail, left the store. But the twins stayed behind.

CCTV footage then shows them beating up shopkeeper Ashok Selvam. A female member of staff even tried to beat them off with a broom handle.

They pulled his T-shirt over his head so he couldn't see, and as one brother held him in a headlock the other punched him in the face.

Mr Selvam told the court that as they assaulted him they shouted "F****** Asian, f****** Paki."

Less than an hour later, the three teenagers went to Costcutter in North Street, where they were banned.

There, one of the twins tried to snatch a bottle of wine.

As shopkeeper Parakram Zala tried to call the police, Gardener punched him in the face, shouting "We will kill you, f****** Paki."

Colleague Girish Patel rushed through, and all three defendants began hitting him.

CCTV footage shows him being punched in the face by one of the defendants who was holding a beer can, and then they continued to punch and kick the two shopkeepers as they lay on the floor.

Mr Patel had a cut lip, and his left eye was so badly injured he thought he would lose the sight in it.

Prosecuting, Ian Jackson said the incidents on June 6 had been "sustained and frenzied attacks".

All three pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage, but denied it was racially aggravated. But after their arrest, Luke Lovedale said to police: "I ain't beaten up no Paki. F****** c*** needs to go back home."

Throughout the hearing, the three defendants sat yawning and sighing in the dock, chatting to each other and laughing.

Lifting the reporting restrictions, District Judge Parsons said: "It is highly likely in my mind that these defendants who demonstrated no remorse would commit similar offences in the future, and the protection of the public outweighs their personal welfare."

Defending the twins against the charges of racial aggravation, Billy Olanyi said that the evidence of racism was weak.

And defending Gardener, Krystle Fonyonga said there was doubt over who made the racist remarks.

But District Judge Parsons said he found the prosecution's evidence was "reliable and compelling".

Handing down his guilty verdict, he said: "Race hatred should be dealt with seriously by the court, and your victims deserve the protection of the court."

He said he was now seriously considering sending them to prison.

Gardener was denied bail

However, the Lovedale twins were released on bail, on condition that they live at their home in south Bristol, remain indoors from 8pm to 6am, and only go to North Street and West Street with their mother in a car or to catch a bus.

Detective Constable Gary Booth, the officer in charge of the case, said: "It shows that racism will not be tolerated in Bristol."

The three will be sentenced on November 11.