Final man sentenced over rival biker gang attack

A man has been sentenced for his role in a violent disorder which saw a motorcycle gang attack the president of a rival group.

Luke Cole, aged 31 and of Gloucester, previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder in connection with the attack in Coleford, Gloucestershire, on 5 April 2025.

He was described by Judge Anna Richardson as a "hanger-on" as he was not a member of the Rock Machine Motorcycle club, which attacked the leader of the Gloucester and Forest of Dean chapter of The Outlaws.

Cole is the final man to be sentenced for the incident after the sentencing of nine men earlier this year. Cole was also handed a two-year community order at Bristol Crown Court on Monday.

The attack on a man and a woman took place outside a pub on Market Place in the Forest of Dean town last year.

Some members of the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club were armed with metal poles, a baseball bat and a hammer during the attack, which saw the male victim, aged in his 60s, taken to hospital with a bleed on his brain and a fractured jaw.

The woman sustained injuries but did not need hospital treatment.

In an earlier sentencing hearing for six gang members, Judge Anna Richardson said that the group had "used" Cole, who had become involved because of his vulnerabilities, including significant mental health difficulties and trauma.

Cole was also given a nine-month mental health treatment requirement, a rehabilitation activity requirement of 20 days, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114.

Dr Simon Harding, a professor of criminology and sociology at St Mary's University, previously said to the BBC that the biker clubs "vie for position, control, and local dominance in regional areas".

He added that the Outlaw motorcycle clubs "consider themselves to be the elite of the motorcycle community and are viewed as rebels and outcasts".

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