Football agent allegedly attacked man in pub loos after pal ‘joked about him using the toilet’, court hears

A football agent repeatedly punched a man in a pub toilet leaving him ‘covered in blood’ after his pal ‘joked about him using the toilet’, a trial has heard. James Featherstone, 41, is accused of attacking the man alongside his co-defendant, Benjamin Cowgill, 41, on March 8 2019.

Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard that the man had gone to the Stamford Arms pub, in the leafy village of Bowdon, Altrincham, where he met friends for a drink.

“At around 8:30pm, he went to use the toilets in the pub. As he went into the toilet he noticed a male – who was later identified as Mr Cowgill – near the urinals, swaying a little,” Helena Williams, prosecuting, told the court.

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“He noticed that there wasn’t any toilet paper so went to retrieve some from the landlord. He returned to the toilet. He noticed that Mr Cowgill was still leaning against the wall talking on his phone.”

As he was using the toilet, Mr Cowgill, of Bowdon, then allegedly started shouting ‘obscenities’ through the door. He allegedly said: “This is f****** great he is having a s**t, a big f***** s**t”.

The man went to leave, but opened the door to find Mr Cowgill standing at the door with his phone out, appearing to be filming him, the court heard. The man said he felt ‘extremely uncomfortable’ and said he could hear him saying: “Did you f****** enjoy that mate, did you have a big s**t, did you enjoy it?”

Giving evidence, the man said he reacted by trying to grab Mr Cowgill’s phone but he ‘turned his back’ and began filming him in the mirror, he alleged.

He then stated that he pushed him ‘out of the way’ at which point Mr Cowgill fell back as he was ‘unsteady on his