"Terrifying Pub Brawl Precedes Knifeman's Deadly Chase and Attack on Father"

THIS is the moment a knife-wielding thug chased a dad down a street and stabbed him after getting into a fight at a boozer.

CCTV footage shows Brandon Byrne, 23, and James Cook, 40, getting into a physical altercation at the Loose Cannon pub in Newark town centre, .

Brandon Byrne stabbed the James Cook after the two got into a fight at a pub on April 30, 2025 Credit: Unknown CCTV footage shows Byrne chasing Cook through the streets of Nottinghamshire after both were ejected from the boozer Credit: Nottinghamshire Police Byrne pleaded not guilty to murder which prompted a two-week-long trial in April Credit: Nottinghamshire Police Brandon Byrne has been sentenced to 23 years in prison after stabbing James Cook Credit: Nottinghamshire Police

After they were both ejected from the establishment, Byrne chased the dad-of-three with a knife and stabbed him to death.

The victim’s wife, , said: “James was the greatest dad and the greatest love of my life.

“He was my partner, my protector and my best friend.

“To my children, he was their hero.”

Cook died from his injuries despite paramedics’ best efforts in the early morning of March 1, 2025 Credit: Unknown Cook’s wife described him as her ‘best friend’ and a ‘hero’ for their children Credit: Nottinghamshire Police

Video from the night of April 30, 2025, shows the men standing in separate groups before Byrne throws a headbutt and blow to Cook.

Cook ducks from the punch and grabs the 23-year-old by the waist in a brawl before both were out of the venue.

Byrne, leaving the pub through the back exit, pulls out a knife and makes his way to the front of the boozer to confront Cook and his group of friends on Stodman Street at around 11.50pm.

Noticing the knifeman coming his way, Cook flees the scene but is caught up by Byrne, who stabs him.

After falling to the floor, the dad is kicked in the head and stabbed a second time.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Cook was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.

Nottinghamshire identified and tracked down Byrne, who was 22 at the time, and arrested him at his residence at 4.09am the same day.

While being arrested, the man asked officers “did he die?”.

Byrne pleaded not guilty to murder, prompting a trial at Nottingham Crown Court which began on April 13.

The jury found him guilty of murder on April 30 and Byrne was sentenced to a minimum 23 years in .

Judge Steven Coupland said that the killing of Cook was motivated by “anger and revenge.”

Detective Constable, Kimberley Priestley, said: “It’s been almost a year to the day since Brandon Byrne turned the lives of James Cook’s family upside down.

“They’ve been put through hell since he produced a knife and callously murdered their loved one with it that night on 30 April last year.

“That senseless decision came only minutes after the two men had a fight in a Newark pub which resulted in Byrne sustaining a facial injury.

“Byrne was clearly enraged by this and refused to let it go, instead deciding to hunt Mr Cook down and stab him to death in the street.

“If that disgraceful display of violence wasn’t bad enough, Byrne then made things even worse in the months that followed with his not guilty pleas.

“While the outcome of this trial and the sentencing that has now been passed will never bring Mr Cook back, our hope is that it will help his family as they continue to grieve.”