Man jailed for causing death of former army regimental sergeant major

A Chorley man died two days after being assaulted by a friend in a pub beer garden in an argument over food they were eating.

Paul Ainscough, 57, who served in the British Army for 24 years, was found deceased at his home in Chorley on 24th June 2024.

When his son went through Paul’s phone, he found messages which Paul had exchanged with Liam Slack (pictured right).

The messages indicated there had been an argument between the pair when they had been out drinking together in Leyland on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd June.

It had been caused by Slack grabbing chicken wings off Paul at the Stag pub beer garden, Worden Lane, Leyland.

Slack had thrown Paul’s rucksack on the floor and pushed Paul into a wooden fence.

In two of the replies sent by Paul in the exchange of messages, he wrote: “You scoffed your chicken then without asking started to grab mine.

“Then you threw my rucksack and as I got up to retrieve it you attacked me, pushing me into a solid wooden fence breaking my ribs on the right side. I can hardly move.”

A second reply read: “Attacked me.”

Paul’s son reported the finding of the messages to Lancashire Police and an investigation into his death was launched.

A postmortem found that the cause of Paul’s death was blunt force trauma to the chest, with him having suffered multiple fractures to his posterior right ribs.

Slack was arrested on 27th June 2024 initially on suspicion of Section 18 assault and later on suspicion of murder.

Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, he was earlier this year charged with Paul's manslaughter. 

In a victim impact statement, Paul’s son Mark said: “Our Dad/Paul was our hero and the person who loved us more than anyone in the world.

“He was a proud granddad, he adored his grandchildren and used to love seeing them, buying them gifts and sharing stories with them about his time in the army.

“Our dad was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army where he served his country for 24 years with courage and honour.”

In reference to Slack, Mark continued: “My dad over his years had faced numerous dangerous situations, in the army and also as a police officer but nothing like what you have done.

“You attacked my dad when he was off guard which is despicable, he was vulnerable you knew that.”

In August at Preston Crown Court, Slack, 34, of Langton Brow, Eccleston, Chorley, pleaded guilty to Paul’s manslaughter.

When he appeared in the dock at the same court for sentence today (1st December), Slack was jailed for four years and two months.

He will have to serve a minimum of two thirds of that term before being considered for parole.

Det Insp Marc Armstrong of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Liam Slack was responsible for Paul’s death and he now starting a sentence of imprisonment.

“This has been a traumatic time for Paul’s family and the trauma of losing a much-loved man will continue. My thoughts are very much with them.

“I’d like to thank the public who came forward during the investigation and provided statements which enable us to establish what happened on that afternoon in June 2024 and helped bring Slack to justice.”