102-year-old man dies after being pushed off pub stage in Cwmbran

A 102-year-old great-grandfather with dementia died days after he was allegedly pushed off stage in his local pub after making a noise complaint.

Phillip Ormerod, from Cwmbran, Torfaen, was taken to hospital in a critical condition following the incident at the Crow's Nest pub in the town on 1 August.

A 56-year-old man from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, was arrested on suspicion of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and remains under investigation.

Phillip Ormerod's son, Robert, said he wanted justice for his dad, who he described as a "pub character", who young people would buy beer for when he visited the bar.

Phillip Ormerod is understood to have been visiting the pub for a drink when he went on to a stage in the venue to complain about the volume of the music.

Robert Ormerod said: "He just asked them to turn the music down."

He said his father turned around to come back down off the stage when he was pushed, and that resulted in a broken hip.

"[That's] the most upsetting part. He wasn't going to live forever, but it's not a nice way, obviously in pain," he said.

"We want to see justice, of course.

"They must have known he was an old man. It makes you wonder what the world is coming to.

"It has obviously made it difficult. It would've been nice if he'd gone quietly in his sleep.

"He was in hospital, suffering, for a week-and-a-half. It's not nice.

"I feel sad. Even though he could be difficult because of his age and dementia, still, you get used to him being around," he said.

Robert, a retired civil engineer, said his father was a regular at the Crow's Nest.

"What happened is not nice. The pub has changed a lot over the years. It has become a youngsters' pub," he said.

Robert said he grew up in the home in the Llanyrafon neighbourhood where his father had lived since 1960.

His dad had a career as a design draughtsman and had lived alone since his wife died 40 years ago.

"Me and my brother would visit our father regularly, and clean the house and buy him food.

"His eyesight had deteriorated, and he had been diagnosed with dementia two or three years ago."

Robert said: "He's well-known around here, although a lot of his generation are gone."

He said his father would visit the pub two or three times a week, where he would drink beers, and described how he became a familiar face to some locals.

"I suppose he became a pub character," he added.

Emergency services were called to the pub at about 22:25 BST following a report of an assault.

Det Ch Insp Shelley Comley, senior investigating officer for Gwent Police, said: "We understand the public interest in this incident but want to remind people that, not only is this an active criminal investigation, but there is a family at the heart of it processing the loss of a loved one."

She urged people to "consider the impact that inaccurate or speculative comments" including "online commentary" could have.

The force is urging anyone who was at the pub between 22:00 and 23:00 on the night of the incident to contact them.