POLICE IN THE North have launched a new campaign to warn young men of the potentially fatal consequences of fist-fights.

The initiative, called One Punch, aims to show that even one blow received in a brawl can kill. It’s hoped the campaign will show men between 18 and 25 the risks of getting involved in an argument which escalates into a fight.

The PSNI said that over the past seven years, 18 people have died in the North as a result of single punches, with “many more” seriously injured. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Baxter said:

With just one punch, lives have been destroyed and families lives have been wrecked. The majority of these incidents are fuelled by alcohol and can have a devastating impact a victim, their family and for the offender, who will likely face a murder or manslaughter charge.

Dr Russell McLaughlin, an expert in emergency care, has endorsed the initiative. He said: “I have been treating the victims of injury for many years and unfortunately I am all too aware of the potentially fatal consequences of a single blow to the head.”

The campaign is based on a similar initiative first introduced by police in West Yorkshire, who rolled out the scheme in 2009. They produced a video to hammer the message home: