WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE: Martin Brierley was attacked during the Oasis concert at Heaton Park in Manchester, leaving him with two black eyes, injuries to his jaw and lip and a head wound which needed gluing together
A man was brutally assaulted after “spilling someone’s pint” at the Oasis gig at Heaton Park, causing him and his wife to miss the entire concert they’d shelled out £300 for and instead spend the night in A&E. Emma Brierley, 32, attended the gig last Saturday night (July 12) with her husband Martin, 50, and a mate. After entering the cordoned off area, the couple queued for the loos and planned to grab a drink from the bar before soaking up the gig they’d been eagerly anticipating for months.
Shortly afterwards, Martin agreed to nip to the bar and fetch a round of drinks while Emma went back to secure their standing spot in the park ahead of the concert.
It was only when the Gallagher brothers hit the stage and Emma realised that Martin hadn’t returned that she suspected he might have lost his way – until she received a call from a security staff member asking her to make her way to the medical tent near one of the entrance gates.
“I tried ringing him a few times but there was no signal at all,” Emma told the MEN. “I thought he’d have just gotten lost somewhere in the park on the way back from the bar.
“Oasis were already playing now and I was saying to our friend how gutted Martin would be to have not made it back from the bar yet. We were just thinking he was struggling to find us at this point.
“We were on the top of the hill quite far back from all the crowds. We weren’t bothered about how close we could get and didn’t want to get crushed because it was very busy.
“At 8.23pm I received a call from ‘Martin’, but it was actually a member of security staff using his phone and telling me to go to Gate 20. There was no mention of what had happened, so I told my friend to wait with my bag, still presuming he had just got lost on the way back.”
As Emma neared the gate, she spotted Martin on the ground, bleeding and injured. She instantly recognised him from his trainers and “ran to him” as he was encircled by security officers.
“He was conscious when I got there but looked a mess, and his shirt was soaked with blood,” she said. “They were telling me they were taking him to the [medical] tent for treatment.
“I asked a member of security to help me try and find our friend to come with us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find our friend so I headed back with security. When I returned, we then went through sealed fence and to a gazebo with police and paramedics.”
Martin’s recollection of the incident is hazy. He recounted how he remembered accidentally knocking over a group’s beers, that were positioned on the floor, as he walked back from the bar while looking at the large screens.
“I was bringing the drinks back from the bar and there was a group with their drinks on the ground. I didn’t realise and obviously walked right through this bloke’s beers. I told him they shouldn’t have been on the floor because it’s a field,” he said.
“I turned around to walk off and I’ve got this flashback of a hand coming across my face. The next memory I have is of a member of security trying to pull me up by my right arm and blood being everywhere. I am not sure if I passed out or not. Then the next thing I knew, I was in the medical tent.
“They definitely went for me more than once. I had injuries to my head, two black eyes and injuries to my jaw and lip.”
The couple from Oldham said police officers arrived approximately 10 minutes after the attack and only asked for basic details. Martin was then taken into the medical tent on a stretcher, where his head injury was glued and bandaged to stop the bleeding.
About 30 minutes later, Emma claimed they were told they could return to the concert, but after their ordeal, they just wanted to leave and get home.
“I asked where we were going as we didn’t have a clue where we were and was told to head out of the tent and just keep walking and that the stage was on our right,” Emma explained. “At this point, Martin had no shirt because of how blood soaked it was, but we couldn’t find anywhere to purchase one or offered anything. I was concerned that we had just been let out with the injuries Martin had sustained, but at this point we just wanted to get out of the concert, get home, and get Martin to A&E near us just to be checked out properly.
“After missing nearly all of Oasis because of what happened, the day had been ruined for us. I was feeling very anxious around everything and just wanted to get Martin closer to home, into appropriate clothing and to A&E.”
The pair later reunited with their friend, who had managed to enjoy the entire concert, and they exited Heaton Park. On their way out, Emma claimed she asked a police officer how to lodge a complaint as they “hadn’t been given a crime reference number” or had the opportunity to explain what had transpired to any officers present.
Martin spent eight hours at Royal Oldham Hospital overnight, undergoing CT scans. His injuries were not considered serious and he was discharged around 10am on Sunday.
Emma subsequently lodged a complaint with Greater Manchester Police about their experience at the concert, alleging that the couple have yet to be visited by an officer.
“Martin and I had never seen Oasis before so we were so excited,” Emma added. “I had managed to get a ballot number last year and sat for hours to get these tickets.
“We sorted the kids being babysat by my mum, it was a sunny day and we were really looking forward to it. It was all so disappointing. You don’t think you’re going to go out to a concert and this is going to happen to you.”
A representative for Greater Manchester Police stated: “Officers are investigating after we received a report of an assault at the Oasis concert at Heaton Park on Saturday evening.
“The man received injuries for which he was treated for, and thankfully which weren’t serious. We will be visiting the man in due course to provide further updates, with an investigation underway.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
