Jailed for just 27 months: The thug who killed a bus passenger for asking him to stop swearing

A yob who killed a bus passenger during a row about his swearing has been jailed for just 27 months. Gary Robson, 23, shoved 60-year-old Stanley Dixon off the bus after he challenged him about his language. Mr Dixon hit his head on a pavement and died in hospital four days later. The drunken thug lunged at Mr Dixon after his partner, Anne Fisher, challenged Robson over the way he was speaking to his own girlfriend. Her complaints were met with a barrage of insults and abuse, prompting Mr Dixon to stick up for her. Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Dixon and Mrs Fisher had been travelling home to Peterlee from a night out in Hartlepool when Robson and his pals got onto the same bus. Prosecutor Ewan Duff said: 'Anne Fisher had remonstrated with the defendant for using foul language and being abusive on a public service bus late in the evening. 'The remonstration by Mrs Fisher led to the defendant then being abusive to her and in turn led to Mr Dixon intervening in an attempt to stop that abuse. 'The incident ended with the defendant pushing Mr Dixon from the bus on which they all had been travelling so that he fell back from the bus, struck his head on the pavement and from which he sustained fatal injuries from which he died.' Fellow passengers had also been insulted and forced to change seats to get away from Robson and his friends during the journey. One elderly lady had said Robson in particular was using foul language. 'Every other word he used was the "F" word, it was upsetting to all,' she told police. The court heard it was when Robson, who was celebrating landing a new sales job, had turned his anger and aggression towards his own girlfriend, that Mrs Fisher decided to speak out. 'It seems to have been the abuse from the defendant towards his own girlfriend that caused Mrs Fisher to intevene,' Mr Duff said. 'What she did was to turn and ask the defendant to stop swearing as there were young girls on the bus. 'The response of the defendant when Mrs Fisher asked them to stop was to say something to her like "what the f**** has it got to do with you" or "shut the f*** up and mind your own business".' The court heard it was at this point Mr Dixon, a divorced father-of-three with a history of heart trouble, stepped in to defend his partner, but was also met with abuse. Mr Duff added: 'The general picture is of the defendant being aggressive towards Mr DIxon and indeed attempting to hit him on a number of occasions.' Even Robson's girlfriend and his friend were trying to pull him back from Mr Dixon and Mrs Fisher, who had already decided to leave the bus. It was as they stopped to give the driver, who was calling the police, their names and addresses that the fatal clash occurred. Mr Duff said: 'Mrs Fisher saw the defendant coming from the back of the bus and she feared he was going to attack Mr Dixon so she attempted to bar his way. 'She was struck in the face by the defendant, her glasses were knocked sideways and the defendant was able to get past her. 'Mr Dixon was posing no threat at all to the defendant and the defendant made a very determined effort to get to him, knocking Mrs Fisher aside, forcing his way past her and quite deliberately pushing Mr Dixon forcefully in the chest.' Mr Dixon was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital and later transfered to a specialist at Newcastle General but was pronounced dead on July 2. The court heard Mr Dixon, who divorced the mother of his three children in 1999, had met Mrs Fisher, who has one daughter, in 2002. After the attack Robson went home and bought himself a pizza before being arrested by police the next day. Defence barrister Richard Bloomfield said Robson, who had previously been in the armed forces, was genuinely sorry for what he did. Mr Bloomfield said; 'He will always have to carry with him the knowledge he was responsible for the responsible for the death of another person, all be it unintended. 'He carries that with him and does appear to be genuinely remorseful for what he has done.' Judge David Hodson jailed Robson for 27 months. The judge said: 'It is well recognised that these cases are among the most difficult that any court has to deal with. 'Mrs Fisher's victim impact statement speaks of the devastation that Mr Dixon's death has caused her and how her life will never be the same again. 'No court can ever restore Stanley Dixon to his family, no sentence can ever match their dreadful loss, no sentence of the defendant can ever equate to the sentence the family will have to endure, that will last forever. 'The court must have in mind the unlawful act was done without any intention to kill or cause really serious harm. 'Of course the result was Mr Dixon's death, but I accept that was not your intention.' Robson, of Peterlee, County Durham, admitted manslaugher at an earlier hearing.