BBC presenter Ashley Blake found guilty of wounding teen
A BBC presenter was found guilty today of wounding a teenager with a large wooden pole.
Midlands Today reporter Ashley Blake was convicted of unlawful wounding at Birmingham Crown Court after swinging a patio umbrella pole above his head and striking 17-year-old Greg Jones in the face at an 18th birthday party at the pub Blake then owned, The Place II B in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
The 40-year-old, who also works on the Inside Out current affairs show, was acquitted of an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but was also found guilty of intending to pervert the course of justice by throwing the pole into a neighbouring garden centre in an attempt to conceal it from police.
The jury heard Blake ran to fetch the pole - measuring about 3ft long and one-and-a-half inches wide - from behind the bar after customer Steven Sproule punched 17-year-old Adam Finn in the face on January 25, leaving him unconscious on the ground.
Mr Finn's friends became angry and upset following the attack.
The court heard Mr Jones was trying to calm the situation when he was attacked by Blake.
Prosecutor Naomi Gilchrist said: "Greg Jones asked him (Blake) to call an ambulance.
"He did not hear a response. He then noticed the defendant was holding a pole in his hands.
