Pop singer lookalike attacked by drunken pair after taunts

TWO drunken friends attacked a man after a night out because he looked like pop singer Daniel Bedingfield. Jamie Duffy and Byron McCrindle, both 24, were walking home after a night out in Edinburgh when they started taunting Greig Saunders, a court heard yesterday.

Duffy laughed as he shouted: "You look like Daniel Bedingfield." Mr Saunders, 28, was angered by the comparison to the New Zealand-born singer.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard he hurled insults back at the pair before throwing his jacket to the ground and challenged them to a fight. McCrindle caught him off guard by hitting him in the face.

Meanwhile, Duffy picked up the victim's jacket and swung it around his head, while continuing to throw insults at him, the court was told.

Duffy, a joiner, then joined in by punching Mr Saunders in the head. Both attackers then fled, running off down the street. They were later picked up after being pointed out to police officers.

Yesterday both men pleaded guilty to assault. Angus McLennan, acting for Duffy, told the court that neither of the accused had intended any harm by comparing Mr Saunders to Bedingfield.

He said: "This was a stupid and unnecessary confrontation resulting from a throwaway remark meant in a humorous way. My client very much regrets being drawn into this."

Acting for McCrindle, Iain Tweedie added: "My client realises he is now too old to be getting involved in this kind of thing."

Sheriff Fiona Reith called for background reports regarding McCrindle and sentence was deferred on both men.

Bedingfield shot to fame with the No1 hit single I Gotta Get Thru This in 2001, which was written in his bedroom with only one computer and a microphone plugged into it, before releasing a string of love ballads, including If You're Not the One.

In 2004 he nearly died after crashing his 4x4 as he holidayed in New Zealand. He broke his neck, had to have a metal frame bolted to his skull, and, as a result, had to spend four months in hospital.