A 26 year old man who stamped on a 66 year old man's head in Stroud town centre was jailed for 16 months last week.

During the hearing at Gloucester crown court on Friday the court heard that Callum Lean had attacked Phillip Flight in what witnesses described as a 'brutal, unprovoked, one-sided' assault.

Lean is understood to have made the attack on October 9 in the mistaken belief that his victim had been harassing his partner, and pleaded guilty on Friday to actual bodily harm.

Jailing Lean for 16 months, Judge Michael Cullum told him “It must have been the case you were intending to do more damage than you did.”

Judge Cullum noted that there were 'remarkably light injuries' to Mr Flight considering the stamping on his head after he had been hit with a Lucozade bottle then knocked to the ground.

Witnesses who saw the attack in Stroud town centre at 11am said it was 'brutal, unprovoked, one-sided'.

 

Police were called to the incident on October 9 and took the victim to hospital to have his injuries assessed

The judge ruled it was a 'protracted and sustained assault'.

“This is a very serious example of ABH,” he said. “You had less control because you were drinking.”

Prosecutor, Alistair Haggerty told the court that earlier in the day Mr Flight had been to the police to complain about being harassed by Lean's girlfriend.

Later he had seen the couple in town together and tried to ignore them but he was then approached by Lean, who assaulted him.

Although Mr Flight was "struck, pulled to the ground, and then stamped to his head a number of times” he was found to have suffered bruising and swelling but no more serious injuries, the prosecutor said.

The court heard that Lean had 15 previous convictions for 33 offences.

“They are mainly for theft and public order,” the prosecutor said, “but there are two more recently for violence.”

Eugene Hickey, who was defending Lean in court, said that he is someone who has struggled with addiction and has been homeless.

“He is someone who has been a drug addict and alcoholic for a considerable time, and has been homeless,” the court was told.

He added “The background to this is that his partner had informed him that the victim had been in fact harassing her.

“I am not suggesting truth or falsehood in that. We know that the victim says something completely different.

“But that is what he understood to be the position and this caused him to over react in this appalling way.

“It does not condone but may explain why he turned his anger on the victim.

“He has not sought to delay matters or to blame anyone. He pleaded guilty at the very first opportunity,” Mr Hickey concluded.

The judge told Lean “This was a disgraceful attack on a 66 year old who may not have been the most sprightly of pensioners.

“You knocked him to the ground, but did not stop there. You proceeded to kick and stamp on his head.”