Callum Bennett from Sheldon succumbed to alcohol, drugs, peer pressure and bravado after turning 18
05:30, 14 Oct 2025Updated 12:10, 15 Oct 2025
Heidi’s Broad Street renamed to Barbara’s Bier Haus(Image: Westside BID)
A teenager has been jailed for three vicious attacks on three separate nights out on Birmingham’s so-called ‘Golden Mile’.
Callum Bennett had not previously committed a crime but quickly spiralled into of world of alcohol, drugs, peer pressure and bravado after turning 18, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
He attacked the first victim, another teenager, on New Year’s Day in the former Heidi’s Bier Bar on Broad Street.
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Bennett punched and kicked him repeatedly, breaking his jaw.
Later that month he struck again at the same venue punching a teenage love rival in the face.
He was arrested and bailed for that but around a month later he chased a man down Broad Street and knocked him out with a single blow from behind.
The victim ended up in a coma for several days having suffered a broken skull and brain damage.
Bennett, of Warmington Road, Sheldon, was sentenced to five years on Friday, October 10 having pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and unlawful wounding.
The teenager had been captured on CCTV for the first two incidents but was incriminated by his own boastful voice notes in relation to the third.
The first victim was the ex-boyfriend of a girl among Bennett’s group of friends at Heidi’s in the early hours of January 1.
He was embroiled in a confrontation with one male and was about to leave when Bennett involved himself.
Prosecutor Rachel Pennington said: “The defendant punched him from behind at least seven times before the victim fell to the floor.
“While on the ground the defendant then kicked him and continued to punch him.”
The victim attended Good Hope Hospital the following day and required surgery for a broken jaw.
In a statement he described his ongoing issues and said he now avoided going out in Birmingham.
The second victim was out at Heidi’s belatedly celebrating his 18th birthday on January 24.
But Bennett targeted him because they had both been out with the same girl in the past.
The victim gave him a false name and tried to move away to different parts of the bar but Bennett and his friends pursued.
The defendant ultimately punched him three times causing bruising to his face.
The victim said he did not want to go out in Birmingham again and felt fearful of the repercussions of reporting the incident to the police.
The third attack took place on February 23. Bennett and his friends pursued a man along Broad Street believing he had tried to grope a girl.
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The victim was later found by passersby slumped and unconscious in an alleyway.
He ended up in a coma for several days having suffered a fractured skull, broken jaw and bleeding to the brain.
Like the other victims he also said he no longer wanted to go to Birmingham because it was ‘tied to bad memories’.
Bennett was arrested at his home the next day and clothing was recovered matching the items CCTV had captured him wearing on Broad Street.
Ms Pennington said: “His phone was examined and voice notes demonstrated his involvement.
“He was telling others about the incident admitting he had run up behind him, smacked him, causing him to drop like a plank.”
Sarah Allen, defending, said that after turning 18 Bennett ended up with a new girlfriend and new group of friends who were bigger and older than him, adding they pressured him into taking drugs.
She submitted the attacks were down to either a ‘misplaced sense of loyalty’, ‘bravado’ or ‘protectionism’.
The barrister said: “Thinking skills were clearly not in place which would have assisted him.
“Ketamine and cocaine clearly had a significant impact on his thinking.”
Ms Allen added a psychiatric report had ‘alluded to’ undiagnosed autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Recorder Helen Wolstenholme, passing sentence, did not find Bennett was a ‘dangerous’ offender who warranted an extended sentence.
She said that while alcohol and drugs had the potential to be a ‘dangerous combination’, he would likely mature while in custody and had a supportive family behind him.