By Anna Edwards

anna.edwards@essnmedia.co.uk

TWO men who fought in front of commuters at a tram stop, using a skateboard and a broken glass bottle as weapons, have been jailed.

Andrew Brown, 27, of Bennetts Way, Shirley, and Blair Osbourne, 24, of Sylvan Hill, Upper Norwood, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court last Thursday.

Brown, who was found guilty of affray and possession of an offensive weapon, was jailed for two years.

Osbourne, who pleaded guilty to affray at an earlier hearing, was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

The court heard that British Transport Police (BTP) and Met Police officers were called to the Blackhorse Lane stop, in Woodside, at around 4.30pm on September 17 last year.

Five men were arrested in connection with the fight, including Brown and Osbourne – who had a cut near his left eye and a gash close to his hip.

After the men were jailed, DC Mark Agrippa, based at Croydon BTP station on Addiscombe Road, said: "The sight of the men fighting and the scale of the violence, all in broad daylight, was truly shocking for onlookers.

"Witnesses told us they were extremely frightened by what they saw unfolding before their eyes and feared that someone would be seriously hurt."

Osbourne and two friends were travelling on a tram from East Croydon, as was Brown, who was accompanied by another man.

Heated words were exchanged between Brown and Osbourne during the journey and the pair both left the tram at Blackhorse Lane, the next stop.

After some pushing and shoving between the pair, Osbourne grabbed a skateboard off a young passenger and began hitting Brown with it.

Brown then smashed a glass bottle before using it to stab Osbourne in the leg several times.

Officers arrived and Brown and another man were arrested.

Osbourne, along with two other men, had boarded a tram and left the scene.

But he was stopped and arrested by officers at the Arena tram stop, further down the line.

Osbourne was taken to Mayday Hospital to be treated for his injuries.

Alex Dos Santos, prosecuting, told the court: "It must have been very frightening on the tram. People were screaming."

When Judge Nicholas Ainley sentenced the pair he told them: "What really started all this remains obscure but there was absolutely no reason to engage in a fight."

Wilbert Brown, 29, of Croydon, was found not guilty of affray. Christopher McKenna, 21, of Thornton Heath, was found not guilty of affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

No further action was taken against a 21-year-old man, who was also arrested in connection with the incident.