A 29-year-old thug who broke a motorist's jaw during a sickening road-rage attack has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Nicholas Castle and a 16-year-old passenger punched and kicked victim Ricky Goddard after their two cars were involved in a near miss on the A30 near Shaftesbury.

Garth Richardson, prosecut-ing, said the trouble happened at 9pm on February 11, when Castle overtook a lorry and forced Mr Goddard to brake sharply. Mr Goddard's car then skidded, narrowly missing Castle's vehicle.

Castle, an unemployed groundworker, and his teen-age passenger then followed Mr Goddard to a nearby garage at West Stour where they launched their assault.

Mr Richardson said: "He remembers being punched and kicked about the body.

"The defendants then drove off leaving Mr Goddard injured and bleeding on the floor.

"He had a front tooth knocked out and an X-ray showed a fracture to the jaw bone, which needed an operation to rectify."

The court heard Mr Goddard, a bricklayer, had been in considerable pain since the attack and will need further surgery to remove the plates.

Castle pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful wounding and the youth admitted causing actual bodily harm.

Judge John Harrow sentenced Castle to two-and-a-half years in jail and the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to six months in a young offenders institution when they appeared before him at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He said: "This was a sickening and disgraceful event."

Neil Hinton, defending Castle, of Elm Close, Motcombe, said his client was "exceedingly sorry" for what he had done.

"His trouble had come about as the result of an acrimonious breakdown in a previous relationship," he added.

And Jamie Ross, defending the youth, said: "He reacted in a way of which he is now very ashamed. He now realises the full consequence of his actions.

"He has shown remorse. This was something that was quite out of character."

First published: August 28