NINE Bolton men have received jail sentences for a vicious attack on a football fan at Chorley Railway Station which left him fighting for his life.

The gang of Bolton Wanderers supporters attacked Manchester United fan Steven Povah, aged 47, and assaulted two other men on February 22 last year.

Sentencing the men at Preston Crown Court, Judge Michael Byrne called the attack "deliberate, savage and sustained."

He said: "This is a tragic example of what can happen when otherwise respectable people have been inebriated by excess amounts of alcohol and are carried away by the herd instincts of the pack mentality."

Mr Povah, from Leigh, was attacked as he waited for a train with his two friends. He suffered severe head injuries and spent three days in intensive care.

The Bolton fans had been drinking in Chorley after a match between the two teams at the Reebok Stadium.

The judge sentenced Ronald Brickles, 31, of Weymouth Street, Halliwell, and Anthony Charnock, 32, of Rannoch Road, Breightmet, to two-and-a-half years jail each, and Malcolm Cooling, 44, of Tarbet Drive, Breightmet, to 12 months in prison.

Gerrard Gallagher, 38, of Crompton Avenue, and David Hough, 38, of Crompton Avenue, both Breightmet; and John Norris, 41, and Timothy Hodge, 49, both of Bury Road, Tonge Fold, were given 90-day jail sentences to be served at weekends.

Anthony Bollard, 48, of Tonge Moor Road, Tonge Moor, and John Bennett, 38, of Regents Hill, Lostock, will each serve 81 days in prison at weekends. Paul Kirkwood, 43, of High Avenue, Breightmet, received 150 hours community service.

All were given football banning orders of between three and 10 years and banned from the Reebok Stadium for life.

The attack was captured on CCTV film but the tape was accidentally wiped and British Transport Police sent the tape to America where the FBI used image-enhancing software to recover the missing images.

Det Sgt Tom Brookshaw, of British Transport Police, said: "A dedicated team of officers brought this case to a successful conclusion."