Leeds United fan Aaron Cawley jailed for 16 weeks over Chris Kirkland attack - The Times (subscription)

A 21-year-old has been jailed for 16 weeks after he admitted attacking Chris Kirkland, the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, during the Yorkshire derby against Leeds United on Friday night.

Aaron Cawley, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates' Court today to assault and entering the field. He told officers that he had drunk several cans of lager and 750ml of vodka before he arrived in Sheffield by train and then consumed ten pints of cider before kick-off. He said that he does not remember running on to the Hillsborough pitch and thrusting his hands into Kirkland's face.

Judge Naomi Redhouse was told that Cawley, who has breached his football banning orders four times, realised what he had done when other people told him and he saw himself on TV. He then immediately made contact with the police and was arrested in Gloucestershire yesterday.

Leeds, who have banned him for life from attending games at Elland Road, said that they had hoped for a longer sentence.

"While we are pleased to see justice brought so quickly, our one disappointment is that we feel the sentence could, and should, have been considerably longer," Leeds said in a statement.

Cawley was also given a six-year football banning order, with one of the conditions that he must stay at least a mile away from football stadiums where Leeds United are playing on match days.

Kirkland told police it was like he had been "hit by a ton of bricks" when he was knocked to the ground by the unemployed labourer. The 31-year-old former England goalkeeper required treatment on the field as Cawley escaped back into the lower tier of the Leppings Lane end and disappeared into the crowd but his actions had all been broadcast on live television.

The incident was one of a number of ugly scenes that took place during a hot-tempered 1-1 draw. There were five arrests, for various offences before and after the game, while three people were ejected from the ground and 12 were subject to dispersal orders.

The Football Association is investigating crowd trouble at the match and is awaiting the referee's report. Neil Warnock, the Leeds manager, was condemned for sending his players over to applaud their fans after the final whistle.