BBC presenter jailed

Former TV host Ashley Blake has been jailed for two yearsÂ…

11:49 02 September 2009

Ex-BBC television presenter Ashley Blake has been jailed for two years.

Blake was found guilty of hitting a teenager with a wooden pole in a fight outside a West Midlands bar and has been jailed for two years.

He was convicted of wounding Greg Jones, 17, and intending to pervert the course of justice.

Blake, who presented ‘Midlands Today’ and ‘Inside Out’, was sacked following his conviction by Birmingham Crown Court.

The presenter had denied the attack outside The Place 2B restaurant in Birmingham, to which jurors heard he swung a patio umbrella pole above his head, hitting the teenager in the face.

Greg Jones, suffered facial injuries to his lip and chin. The court heard that Jones had gone to the aid of a teenager who had been knocked unconscious when the violence began.

Blake initially denied having the pole but later admitted lying to detectives after being shown CCTV footage. He then tried to hide the pole by throwing it into a neighbouring garden centre.

In his defence, he said he had used the pole as a bat to deflect missiles being thrown at him.