'Boxer' who punched dad in town centre brawl found NOT GUILTY of his manslaughter

A ‘boxer’ who punched a dad during a town centre brawl has been cleared of unlawfully killing him. Piotr Ludwiczak, 35, died after being hit by Brook Marshall-Byrne, before falling to the ground and hitting his head in Bury town centre.

Marshall-Byrne was found not guilty of manslaughter after maintaining that he had acted in self defence. The pair had both separately been on nights out with friends when the horrific incident occurred in the early hours.

Prosecutors claimed that Mr Ludwiczak was trying to protect a teenager allegedly being attacked by Marshall-Byrne, when he was said to have been punched to the head with ‘tremendous force’.

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Marshall-Byrne told the jury that he was acting in self-defence. He said that Mr Ludwiczak had held him in a ‘bear hug’ after the earlier incident and said he ‘couldn’t breathe’.

Marshall-Byrne, 20, was found not guilty of manslaughter after jurors spent two days deliberating following a trial at Manchester Crown Court. He was found guilty of affray in relation to events that night, but jurors could not agree on a further charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mr Ludwiczak, who was born in Poland but had lived in the UK for a decade at the time of his death, had a partner and young son. His devastated family paid tribute to him after his death in July last year.

They said: “Piotr, also known as Peter, was loved by his family and friends. He had a giant personality and loved making people laugh, he certainly made his partner and young son smile every day.

“Piotr was well-liked by everyone he met, both in the UK and Poland. He was a gentleman, always