A man has been jailed for five years for manslaughter and GBH

Tyren Pollard (07/07/1972), of Newbury Avenue, Sale was found guilty of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm in November following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court. Today (Friday 7 March) he was sentenced to five years imprisonment. 

On 11 December 2017, Bernard Hirsch, attended a petrol station in Marsland Road in Sale, to fuel up his car shortly before 11am.

At the same time, Pollard arrived at the station and pulled his vehicle up to a different pump. Shortly after, Pollard walked up to Mr Hirsch, and began shouting at him, waving his walking stick in a threatening manner.

Pollard was then seen to throw a punch before hitting his victim multiple times with a walking stick. Mr Hirsch, who also used a walking stick, attempted to use his own in self-defence.

Pollard’s actions were reported as being over the use of a petrol pump. He left the scene shortly after the attack.

Bernard received a cut to the lip and was left shaken following the incident, suffering from a headache over the following days which resulted in him vomiting and collapsing on 14 December.

A subsequent scan confirmed that he had received a bleed on the brain, and over the following days, he developed sepsis and pneumonia while in intensive care.

Bernard remained in a coma for a period of time and when he did wake, he suffered from limited mobility and could not speak. He was discharged in August 2018 and was cared for by his wife, with the support of carers.

This continued until 2020, when Bernard sadly contracted Covid-19 and died aged 43 on 20 March.

Subsequent reports and a post-mortem revealed that his assault caused the brain injury, and that this contributed to his death.

Pollard was interviewed on the 9 February 2018 and charged with manslaughter and assault causing grievous bodily harm in September 2023.

Detective Sergeant Kirsty Wroe, from GMP’s Trafford district, said: “Pollard’s senseless and totally unwarranted attack left a man with a serious bleed on the brain, and drastically reduced his quality of life over two years until his death.

“His actions have left a family grieving – and all of whom have been strong and resilient in what has been an incredibly difficult few years.

“Pollard is now behind bars and I hope that Bernard’s family now receive some closure, as they continue to rebuild their lives following his sad passing.”