Cheryl Cole’s Brother Spared Jail

The brother of Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole has been spared jail after admitting he attacked a man with a can of pepper spray.

Andrew Tweedy pleaded guilty to common assault and possessing a prohibited weapon during the attack on 13th August 2008. The 29-year-old bad boy is no stranger to prison, in 2005 he was jailed for his part in a robbery in the city. On this occasion though, he was given a suspended three month prison term, and was ordered to pay £250 compensation to his victim.

He is also ordered to do 100 hours of community service, Newcastle Crown Court ruled. The court was told that Tweedy sprayed the contents of a silver canister into Mr Clark’s face and eyes in a “completely unprovoked” attack. The victim was treated by paramedics and taken into Newcastle General Hospital, where he spent 24 hours.

In a statement read to the judge, Mr Clark said he did not understand what had caused Tweedy to attack him. The court heard Tweedy, who described himself as the “black sheep” of his family, had been carrying the pepper spray to protect himself after he was attacked in the city.

His barrister Paul Caulfield said he was “very well known” in Newcastle, and suffered as a result of having a famous sister. At an earlier hearing, Tweedy pleaded guilty to common assault and possession of a prohibited weapon, the pepper spray.

Judge David Hodson said Tweedy’s record – he has been convicted on 30 occasions for 82 separate offences since 1993 – was “pretty atrocious“. Cheryl Cole’s spokesperson, Sundraj Sreenivasan, said the singer had “no comment to make” on her brother’s sentence.