A man has been sentenced to prison for the manslaughter of his friend, a decorated army veteran, following a fatal altercation that began with a dispute over chicken wings in a pub beer garden.
A Fatal Push After a Night of Drinking
Paul Ainscough, 57, and Liam Slack, 34, had been drinking together on the evening of June 22, 2024. The social outing took a tragic turn when an argument erupted between the two men over food. During the confrontation, Slack pushed Ainscough, causing him to fall backwards into a wooden fence and land on a stone step.
Paul Ainscough was able to get back to his feet and, according to Judge Robert Altham at Preston Crown Court, seemed embarrassed and tried to make light of the incident. Unbeknown to both men, the fall had inflicted catastrophic injuries.
The Tragic Consequences of Hidden Injuries
After returning to his home in Chorley, Lancashire, Ainscough told his partner about the argument and later walked his dogs. Text messages recovered from his phone showed Slack apologising, to which Ainscough replied detailing his injuries: ‘You attacked me and pushed me into a wooden fence, breaking my ribs. I could hardly move.’
Two days after the fight, on the morning of June 24, Ainscough began suffering severe abdominal pains and asked his partner to call an ambulance. Initially attributing his discomfort to a hangover, she left him asleep on the sofa later that day. When she returned shortly before 4pm, he was unresponsive.
Emergency services rushed to the scene but Paul Ainscough was pronounced dead at his home. A post-mortem examination revealed the true cause: three broken ribs had led to fatal internal bleeding.
Justice for a 'Proud and Precious Life'
Liam Slack was arrested on June 27, 2024, and later charged with manslaughter. He pleaded guilty at a hearing in August 2025. At Preston Crown Court, he was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.
In sentencing, Judge Altham highlighted the victim's character and service, stating: ‘Mr Ainscough was a kind, generous and thoughtful man... He had a proud past, having served in the Army for 24 years before joining the police. What a proud and precious life to have been taken by such a thoughtless act of violence.’
The judge noted Slack's ‘genuine and immediate remorse’ and that the attack was not premeditated, but also cited Slack's troubling use of alcohol and awareness of his own aggressive tendencies when drunk as aggravating factors.
In a powerful victim impact statement, Paul Ainscough's son, Mark, described his father as the family's hero and a proud granddad. Addressing Slack directly, he said: ‘My dad over his years had faced numerous dangerous situations, in the army and also as a police officer, but nothing like what you have done. You attacked my dad when he was off guard, which is despicable, he was vulnerable, you knew that.’
