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Four Polish men who took part in a racially motivated street attack on a family have been jailed for more than ten years.

At least three of them - Tomasz Tchorzewski, 30, his brother Robert Tchorzewski, 28, and Ernest Bachowski, 27 - started the riot because they did not like the fact a Polish teenager was in a relationship with an English man.

The 17-year-old Polish girl, Olivia Johnson, had gone outside her partner's home in Granville Street, west Hull, to translate and try to calm things down after the three gathered outside, Hull Crown Court heard.

But she was called a "prostitute" by Robert, who said she "deserved to be killed because she was a Polish person sleeping with an English person", Philip Standfast, prosecuting, told the court.

During the violence that followed, she was punched to the ground and stamped on by Robert Tchorzewski, her partner Kieran Bush was assaulted by Lukasz Chluba, 32, and the Tchorzewski brothers, while Mr Bush's father Mark was stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle by Tomasz Tchorzewski, who also smashed a bottle over the head of a man who tried to intervene.

The incident, which began at about 11pm on June 16 last year, only ended with the Polish gang "in retreat" after other residents armed themselves with weapons and fought them off.

Kieran's mother, Wendy Bush, had to pause to wipe away tears as she read her victim statement to the court, which revealed the strain the incident had placed on her relationship with her husband, and how her son had changed from an "outgoing young man" with a job and a social life, to someone who had become "introverted", had anger issues and did not work.

Sentencing the four on Thursday, Judge Mark Bury told them: "This was an extremely violent, nasty, aggressive public order incident witnessed by ordinary people at 11pm on a Friday summer's evening. It's hardly surprising some people got involved who were trying to protect their friends and neighbours.

"This sort of behaviour is totally outrageous. It cannot be dealt with in any other way but an immediate sentence of imprisonment."

How the fight began

Bachowski had started it, swearing in Polish and "hitting a clenched fist into the palm of his other hand in an aggressive fashion as though he wanted to fight Olivia", Mr Standfast said. He was also heard to shout in English: "F*** him up!"

Mark Bush went out to see what was happening and told the men to leave. He was told to "Move out of the f****** way, old man".

Robert Tchorzewski held a bottle over his head as he was abusing Olivia, but used his fist to punch her to the ground, causing a filling to fall out.

Kieran had gone back in to get his shoes and came to see "Olivia was on the floor, and Robert Tchorzewski was holding onto Mr Bush's father's car and using both feet to stamp on Olivia's head and back using full force. Olivia was screaming for someone to get him off her".

Kieran saw Robert Tchorzewski throw "fifteen to twenty" punches at his father's head, and Kieran began punching him in self-defence. Chluba then became involved by holding Kieran's arms so he could not defend himself. Tomasz Tchorzewski bit him on the forearm.

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Stabbed with broken bottle

Kieran also picked up a plank of wood and hit Tomasz Tchorzewski on the back of the head with it, but this "didn't seem to affect Tomasz Tchorzewski". He swung a broken bottle at Mark Bush, who "felt a sharp in his leg".

The wound bled "heavily" and he needed an operation to repair it, at one stage fearing he would die because of a loss of blood pressure.

(Image: Simon Renilson)

Bachowski, of Granville Street, and the Tchorzewskis and Chluba - all of the same address in Dalwood Close, Bransholme - all pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

The judge told them: "The reason, I'm satisfied on the evidence, this all took place was because of your dissatisfaction with a young Polish girl taking up with an English boy."

Robert Tchorzewski was jailed for three years, nine months; Tomasz Tchorzewski for three years, three months; Chluba for 20 months; and Bachowski for 18 months.

'It was frightening'

Speaking to Hull Live at the time of the attack, Kieran told he the attack had been part of an ongoing problem.

He said: “We’ve seen them a few times, they glare at us as they walk past the house and been very passive aggressive.

“To say I’m angry we’ve been attacked in our own home doesn’t cover it, just because my girlfriend isn’t seeing a Polish man. When I think about what they did, it just makes so angry, and it scares me at the same time, they are neighbours. How often could this happen, is it going to happen again.

“My dad is still in hospital, he’s needed plastic surgery on his leg. It was frightening, seeing what they were doing to my girlfriend and my dad.”

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