Man found guilty of killing brother with one punch in Rossendale

Thursday, October 1, 2026

A man has been found guilty of killing his brother with a punch at a social club in Rossendale.

Brent Clayton, now 62, fatally punched his younger brother Simon in Waterfoot Social Club on Saturday 23rd November 2024.

Simon, 58, (pictured below) was taken to hospital but was unable to survive his injuries and sadly later died.

Clayton was first arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm, telling our officers in custody that he had ‘chinned’ and ‘upper cut’ his brother.

The incident was captured on CCTV which shows Clayton in the function room of the club, shadowboxing and dancing around the room, cajoling his brother to join him.

Once Simon reluctantly stands the two appeared to be attempting to play-fight. But events escalated after Simon “catches” Clayton and Clayton moves forward and throws two hard punches to Simon’s face causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the floor. Clayton then raises his arms up in victory.

Witnesses later said how when they got into the room to see Simon on the floor Clayton told them that Simon had hit him first, before telling the witness not to call an ambulance because “he will get up in a minute”. When Simon still wasn’t responding, the witness called 999 for help.

A Home Office Postmortem Examination determined that Simon had died from a hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury due to cardiac arrest and blunt force trauma to the head, with acute alcohol intoxication being a contributing factor.

Clayton was initially interviewed after being arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm before Simon died. In that interview he gave a prepared statement, telling our officers he was distraught at learning his brother was in a critical condition and did not feel he could answer any further questions. He went on to provide no comment answers to the questions our detectives put to him.

In a second interview, still before Simon died, Clayton gave another prepared statement, maintaining his upset, expressing remorse and saying he believed this was a play fight that escalated whilst both had been drunk.

In his final interview on 27th November after Simon had died and Clayton had been arrested on suspicion of murder, Clayton continued giving a prepared statement to say he was distraught at what had happened and didn’t feel he could answer any police questions.

Following a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Brent Clayton (pictured below) of Taylor Avenue, Rossendale was charged with manslaughter.

He pleaded not guilty at Preston Crown Court, maintaining his innocence. A jury saw through that and found him guilty of manslaughter.

Clayton will appear back in the dock at the same court to be sentenced on 14th October.

Detective Inspector Tris Hardwick of our Force Major Investigation Team said: “This is a devastatingly sad case that shows it only takes one punch to take a life, and to ruin your own.

“Simon’s family have had to come to terms, not only with the fact that he has died, but that he was killed by his older brother – someone who he was meant to be able to trust implicitly. My, and my team’s thoughts are with Simon’s loved ones today, and as they continue to grieve him.

“Clayton didn’t go out that night with the intention of taking a life, but he became intoxicated, he thought it was a good idea to mock a fight with his brother. There was nothing pretend about the punch that killed Simon.

“The message is clear – one punch can kill. Violence is not and never will be acceptable in our county, no matter what you think your intentions may be.”