Man jailed for the manslaughter of his younger brother in Rossendale

A man has today been jailed for being responsible for his brother’s death in Rossendale in 2024.

Brent Clayton, 62, was found guilty by a jury earlier this month and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court.

Simon, 58, died in hospital after being assaulted by Clayton in Waterfoot Social Club on 23rd November 2024.

On that Saturday both men had been drinking in Rossendale, they ended up at the social club together. The entire incident was caught on CCTV.

Shortly after 11:35pm, Clayton moves into the function room at the club. He begins to shadowbox and dance around the room, trying to persuade his brother to join him.

Simon turned to walk away, before his brother said something to him that made him stay. The two appeared to spar, with Clayton making punching motions towards Simon. After Simon hit Clayton, catching his lip, Clayton punched Simon again, hitting him in the face harder than before. Simon dropped his arms, but Clayton continued, punching him once more before Simon fell back and hit his head on the floor.

After delivering that fatal blow, Clayton threw his arms up in victory.

Witnesses later said how when they got into the room to see Simon on the floor Clayton told them that Simon had hit him first, before telling the witness not to call an ambulance because “he will get up in a minute”.

When Simon still wasn’t responding, the witness called 999 for help.

A Home Office Postmortem Examination determined that Simon had died from a hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury due to cardiac arrest and blunt force trauma to the head, with acute alcohol intoxication being a contributing factor.

Clayton was initially interviewed after being arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm before Simon died. In that interview he gave a prepared statement, telling officers he was distraught at learning his brother was in a critical condition and did not feel he could answer any further questions. He went on to provide no comment answers to the questions our detectives put to him.

In a second interview, still before Simon died, Clayton gave another prepared statement, maintaining his upset, expressing remorse and saying he believed this was a play fight that escalated whilst both had been drunk.

In his final interview on 27th November after Simon had died and Clayton had been arrested on suspicion of murder, Clayton continued giving a prepared statement to say he was distraught at what had happened and didn’t feel he could answer any police questions.

Following a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Brent Clayton of Taylor Avenue, Rossendale was charged with manslaughter.

He pleaded not guilty at Preston Crown Court, maintaining his innocence. A jury saw through that and found him guilty of manslaughter.

Clayton appeared back in the dock today, where he was sentenced to four years in prison.

Simon’s wife, in her Victim Personal Statement, said: “There are no words that can describe the devastating impact losing my husband has had on my children, grandchildren and myself. Our worlds have been destroyed, and the person who did this was Simon’s own brother.

“Simon was my husband, my best friend, my protector and the person I expected to grow old with. We were already making plans for our life when we had more time to ourselves. Never in a million years did I imagine our future would be taken away from us in such a violent and senseless way.

“My life will never be the same again.”

She continued: “I miss Simon every single minute of every single day. I miss his presence, his voice, his company and simply knowing he was there. I miss being able to talk to him, having him hold me and comfort me. He made me feel safe.

“I am now having to face a future I never chose.”

She ended her statement with: “The hardest thing is knowing that this is something that cannot be undone or repaired. We cannot get Simon back.

“He will never walk through the door.

“He will never see his grandchildren grow up.

“He will never meet his youngest grandchild.

“He will never enjoy the home he spent so many years building.

“He will not enjoy his retirement.

“He will not grow old with me.

“His brother has taken away the future that Simon and I planned together, the future my children expected to have with their dad and the future my grandchildren should have had with their grandad. The future Simon deserved to have.”

 DI Tris Hardwick, of the Force Major Investigation Team said: “I think it is clear from the excerpt you have just read that Simon was adored by his family. They have been through an unimaginable loss but have held themselves with incredible composure throughout proceedings. My and my team’s thoughts remain with them at this very difficult time.

“Brent Clayton didn’t set out that night to kill his brother, we know that. This is a tragic example of how reckless behaviour when drunk can end so badly. Clayton has already been given the sentence of knowing that he was responsible for his brother’s death, which I acknowledge will remain with him for the rest of his life.

“No sentence will bring Simon back to his family, and it isn’t for me to comment on the sentence handed down today, but I hope that Simon’s family can begin to rebuild their lives knowing that the person responsible has been brought to justice through the courts.

“This case is terribly sad, but it is an important one to tell you about. We say it time and time again, one punch can, and does kill.

“So please, read about Simon, read the words of his wife about how this has affected their entire family, and take a moment to stop and think. A split-second, reckless decision that Clayton made whilst drunk meant that Simon didn’t make it home that night.”