A MAN has today been found guilty of the manslaughter of Grzegorz Beyer.

Marcin Koscielniak, 28, of Westlea, bowed his head in the dock as the verdict was read out by the jury at Bristol Crown Court this morning.

Mr Beyer was on a night out in the town centre with two friends following his daughter’s first Holy Communion when he suffered the punch to the face in the early hours of May 2 last year.

During the fight, Mr Beyer, 40, fell to the ground backwards, hitting his head on a concrete slab and being knocked unconscious.

He died on May 4 in Southmead Hospital, as a result of ‘catastrophic’ brain injuries.

Throughout the trial, the court heard how Koscielniak had been thrown out of the Boston Brothers nightclub on May 1 for being drunk and aggressive.

Once outside with his brother, an altercation took place with Mr Beyer's group before they went their separate ways.

It was two hours later that the two groups of Polish men crossed paths again near the water fountain at the crossroads of Bridge Street/ Canal Walk, when Mr Beyer suffered the fatal blow.Koscielniak fled the scene and handed himself into police on May 6 after reading about Mr Beyer's death on Facebook.

Detective Sergeant Don Pocock, of the Brunel Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Grzegorz Beyer was a family man who had recently moved to Swindon from his home country of Poland. He lived with his wife and three young daughters.

“On Sunday, May 1, 2016, Grzegorz was on a night out in Swindon with friends when what should have been an enjoyable evening turned into tragedy.

In the early hours of Monday, May 2, Grzegorz and his friends were approached by another group of Polish nationals who they had come into contact with briefly earlier that night – Koscielniak was part of this group.

“A disagreement took place and Koscielniak landed a fatal blow to Grzegorz – one punch which caused him to fall to the floor and hit his head on the ground. He never recovered from his injuries tragically dying in hospital two days later.

“Although Koscielniak may not have intended to kill Grzegorz that night, there is no denying that he died as a direct result of his actions.

"Following the punch, Koschielniak fled from the scene with his friends, and only handed himself in after Wiltshire Police launched appeals in the media and social media which clearly played on his conscience.

“This tragic case should serve as a reminder to members of our local community who may see ‘one punch’ as innocuous.

"This man’s actions have had a devastating impact - not only has he taken someone’s life and had a devastating impact on the lives of his family and friends, he has hugely affected his own life.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the hugely dedicated team of officers that worked on this case, trawling through CCTV footage and carrying out extensive enquiries in the area to ensure the offender was brought to justice.

“Finally, I would like to say that my thoughts remain with the family and friends of Grzegorz at this extremely difficult time.”

The jury of six men and six women took less than two hours to reach their verdict, after which, the court heard that Koscielniak has previous convictions from Poland including theft using violence and/or a weapon and battery.

His Honour Judge Johnson told Koscielniak: “You have been convicted of a very serious offence and it is inevitable that the sentencing will be one of some year’s imprisonment.

“You have not been convicted in this country before today so I am going to order a pre-sentence report on you. That will address the length of the sentence.

“Until then I am remanding you in custody.”

Koscielniak was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on April 7 at Bristol Crown Court.

Marcin’s brother Zbigniew Koscielniak was found not guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm on a third party.