A THUG who threw his victim from their bike before repeatedly punching them and stamping on their head has been jailed for nearly two years.

Edward West, 43, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday after admitting one charge of grievous bodily harm and a separate charge of criminal damage relating to an incident which took place in Pottersfield, Braintree, last September.

The court heard how West, a bricklayer, had arrived at Kevin Greer’s address to buy drugs, but didn’t have any money on him.

The two were believed to have been acquaintances for about four months.

Paul Valder, prosecuting, told the court that after Mr Greer left his address, West pushed his victim off his bike, threw him to the ground, and started shouting “where’s my phone?”

Mr Valder said: “As [Mr Greer] lies prone, the defendant stamps on his head twice, leans over him, and punches him repeatedly about nine times.

“There’s also footage from a police helicopter which shows the defendant dragging Mr Greer by the collar."

The court heard the two continued fighting inside and there, two of Mr Greer’s teeth were knocked out as part of the brawl.

Police then arrived at the address to detain West, whilst Mr Greer was taken to hospital.

Although Mr Greer was later discharged, he was readmitted to hospital three weeks later when a scan found he had a bleed to the brain which left him with memory loss and slurred speech.

Omar Sabbagh, for West, argued the brawl involved “a few quick blows”, adding “it’s certainly not prolonged and it’s balanced out by it being a spontaneous, unplanned attack which was short-lived”.

Mr Sabbagh said West’s imprisonment would have a detrimental impact on the 43-year-old's father, given West’s half-brother took his own life last year.

But the judge, Recorder KC Clegg, rejected Mr Sabbagh’s defence in his closing remarks.

He said: “This was a dreadful attack on your victim who was stuck on the floor where you then kicked and stamped on him several times.”

Recorder Clegg jailed West for 20 months, and has ordered the 43-year-old to pay a victim surcharge.