Thug kicked unconscious man in the head

And at Warwick Crown Court the man who played the leading role in the vicious attack was jailed, while two others received suspended sentences.

Cameron Spriggs, aged 23, of The Orchard, Marton; Ben Sharratt, aged 23, of Black Lane, Birdingbury; and Luke Dance, aged 20, of George Street, Stockton, all pleaded guilty to the assault and causing actual bodily harm. Spriggs was jailed for 15 months, while Sharratt and Dance were both sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years, with two years supervision.

They were also ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and to each pay £500 compensation to victim Jonathan Austin.

Prosecutor Kathryn Roughton said that in November last year, Mr Austin had been out drinking with his cousin Christopher Span in Southam, when Spriggs, who was driving, and the other two defendants jumped out of a car and confronted him in the street.

Spriggs, who has since been banned for driving with excess alcohol that night, felled him with a powerful headbutt. As Mr Austin lay unconscious, Spriggs kicked and punched him repeatedly in the head.

Sharratt joined in by slapping Mr Austin to the face, and he and Dance then went 
towards Mr Span to stop him going to his cousin’s assistance.

They told the police that Mr Austin had ‘embarrassed’ them in the pub - but both Dance and Sharratt said they had not realised he was unconscious when they joined in.

Mrs Roughton added that Spriggs and Sharratt both had a previous conviction for violent disorder following an attack on a man and his two teenage sons in 2007.

Recorder Richard Burns commented: “Any one of those kicks to the head could have resulted in brain damage.”

Spriggs, who has issues with anger management and with his temper, as well as issues over the loss of his sister who died unexpectedly, said he was deeply remorseful and ashamed of his behaviour.

Jailing Spriggs, Recorder Burns told him: “You were the perpetrator of the harm caused to the victim; you kicked him and pounded him. It was terrible; any one of those kicks could have caused really serious harm.”

He added that the other two ‘did not play such a big role’ in the assault.