Five teenagers have been convicted of killing a much-loved dad who was battered to death in a senseless and savage attack sparked by banter over his resemblance to Ant McPartlin. 

Danny Humble, 35, shared a joke with them as he and his partner made their way home from a meal and drinks in Cramlington, Northumberland, after lockdown rules were relaxed in May last year. 

But Newcastle Crown Court heard the atmosphere suddenly changed when the teens, then aged 16 to 18, surrounded him near an underpass and repeatedly punched and kicked him to the floor. 

Ex-soldier Alistair Dickson, 18, of Blyth, Northumberland, was found guilty of murder after jurors heard he stamped on Mr Humble’s head during the onslaught. 

The jury cleared his co-defendants of murder but found them guilty of manslaughter. 

They were 18-year-olds Ethan Scott, of Blyth; Kyros Robinson, from Seaton Delaval; Bailey Wilson, of Blyth; and a 17-year-old who cannot be identified by the media due to his age. 

Jurors were played a video-recorded interview in which Mr Humble’s partner Adele Stubbs described the two having been out on a ‘date night’, visiting a restaurant and a number of pubs. 

She could not remember leaving the last pub or getting to the underpass, but the court was told Mr Humble was the subject of a joke as they encountered the teens, when one said he looked like Ant from Ant and Dec. 

Ms Stubbs said it then ‘went from zero to 100 just like that’ as the teenagers encircled him and knocked him to the floor. 

She went on: ‘He was out. There was blood trickling from his mouth. Instinct kicked in and I knew something was really wrong and I started CPR. 

‘I couldn’t look at his face because I knew. I was shouting, “what the f**k have you done to him”. He wasn’t breathing.’ 

One witness described how the teenagers were ‘straight on him, kicking the s**t out of him’. 

Jacob Hallam QC, prosecuting, told jurors the attack continued when Mr Humble went to the ground, adding that it seemed ‘they didn’t miss a part of his body’ to kick. 

The court heard the attack was ‘short and sustained’ – lasting for just 15 seconds but leaving Mr Humble with a ‘catastrophic’ head injury from which he would never recover. 

Mr Hallam said: ‘Once the attack had stopped it appears that the defendants acted in a variety of ways.

‘Some of them appear to have become emotional and attempted to justify themselves.  Some appear to have stayed at the scene for a while.  

‘In the event, every single one of them ran away, leaving the sobbing Adele Stubbs trying desperately but fruitlessly to save the life of her partner.’ 

‘He was a beautiful, happy and contented person, loved and respected by all.’

After the hearing, Mr Humble’s mother Deborah said: ‘On May 29, 2021, my life turned black.

‘Danny had dropped his children off, then seven and five years old, for a sleepover. He and his partner were going on their first date since lockdown restrictions had eased.

‘Danny and the children were laughing, singing and joking together. They were talking about the plans for the next week – half-term.

‘He kissed and hugged us all and gave a wave and left, then jokingly came back for another wave and smile.

‘Hours later, police were at the door and my memory just turns to black after that.’

Mr Humble’s father, Vaughan, added: ‘We will never again hear his laughter, witness his love of life or that dazzling six-million-dollar smile. He was a beautiful, happy and contented person, loved and respected by all.

‘What we will see, in our moments of quiet solitude and in the minutes before we sleep at night and when we wake in the morning, are the dreadful images and scenes of Danny being attacked and, when defenceless, being punched, kicked and stamped to death.

‘We will recall the vivid testimonies of the witnesses and their accounts of the noises that they heard on that fateful night.’

Mr Justice Bennathan told the five defendants that ‘significant custodial’ terms would follow when they are sentenced at a later date. 

Earlier in the trial Izaak Little, 18, of Blyth, and a 17-year-old defendant were cleared at the direction of the judge. 

Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Brooks, of Northumbria Police, said: ‘This is a truly tragic case in which a father lost his life, and our thoughts very much remain with Danny’s heartbroken family and loved ones. 

‘Danny was a very respected member of the Cramlington community and leaves behind two completely devastated children, a committed partner, loving family and countless friends. 

‘This has been a complex investigation that has relied on the support of the community to come forward as witnesses and assist with the case – and I would like to thank people for their assistance.’ 

She added: ‘So many lives have been destroyed by what happened that night. 

‘Children have been left without a father and those responsible have caused pain and suffering for their own loved ones and shattered their own chances of a happy future. 

‘No-one wins where violence is concerned, and I want to send a clear message to anyone who believes that such actions are acceptable – the consequences are devastating and can rip lives apart.’ 

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