A PAIR of drunken thugs who attacked a BBC reporter while he was trying to do his job have avoided going to jail.

North West Tonight journalist Paresh Patel was setting up a live broadcast in Sackville Gardens, central Manchester, when a group of drunken yobs began harassing him and his cameraman.

Two of the thugs followed Mr Patel through the city streets as he left the area, repeatedly shoving and goading him. But the yobs didn't realise Mr Patel was a black belt in karate and he finally lashed out at his attackers, knocking one of them to the ground.

CCTV footage shows how Mr Patel was forced to defend himself after a barrage of abuse and harassment.

John Nugent, 22, of Balmer Street, Beswick, and David Neville McKenna, 27, of Bardell Crescent, Poynton, punched, shoved and goaded Paresh Patel through the streets of the city centre for half an hour.

At Manchester Crown Court, the pair, who admitted charges of affray and common assault at an earlier hearing, were condemned as 'drunken louts' by Judge David Hernandez. But he chose not to jail them on the spot and handed them community orders, warning them they would go to prison if they breached them.

Speaking of the victim, he said: "He defended himself, he delivered a blow. I say good for Mr Patel. He had no reason to be subjected to that level of abuse and threat by you."

The court heard that, on the evening of September 11, Paresh and his cameraman, Steve Capstick, were trying to film a North West Tonight report about gay computer pioneer Alan Turing, who had been given a posthumous apology by Gordon Brown.

The journalists were setting up at Sackville Gardens, near where six men and women were loitering and boozing, when two of the group began jumping on the statue of Turing while trying to get themselves on TV.

When Mr Patel rang the newsroom to explain the problem, the yobs thought he was ringing the police and turned on him. Jodie Anderson, 26, who was handed a six-week suspended sentence and 12-month supervision order at an earlier hearing after pleading guilty to common assault, first chucked a pint over Mr Patel.

Then, when he tried to walk away, Nugent and McKenna started on him. As the journalist headed for Oxford Road, the louts pursued them, before Nugent punched Mr Patel in the face and split his lip.

As the intimidated BBC workers neared Princess Street, the men began swinging advertising boards at them. But, when Nugent lunged to hit Mr Patel again, the martial arts champ punched him in the face and kicked him in the groin, knocking him to the ground.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Patel said: "I am shocked and upset by what has happened. I was trying to go about my business in a peaceful way."

McKenna claimed he lashed out at Mr Patel because he called his friend 'tramps' and a 'slag' while boasting of being a Thai boxer. He was given an 18-month community and supervision order, an alcohol education programme and 140 hours' unpaid work for common assault, affray and vandalism.

Nugent had been boozing since 10am that morning after a funeral and said he couldn't remember the incident.

He was on a conditional discharge for theft at the time. He was given an intensive alternative-to-custody order for 18 months plus supervision, ordered to attend an anger-management programme and given unpaid work for 80 hours.