A smirking thug laughed as a judge heard how he left a man blind in one eye during a "brutal" street attack in Canterbury.

Alex Watson, 22, and pal Darren Allen, 29, punched and kicked their victim before stamping on his head during two incidents in the city in August.

As details of the horrific assaults were being outlined at Canterbury Crown Court, victim Justin Lait began crying as he sat in the public gallery.

Watson then began staring at him and smirking – only to be rebuked by Judge Rupert Lowe.

Watson and Allen, who were both sleeping rough, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and assault.

Father-of-four Allen was given a sentence of eight years and eight months, while Watson was jailed for eight years and two months.

Prosecutor Imogen Nelson told how the victim was with a woman near Canterbury’s Poundland store when they were joined by the drunken Watson and Allen.

She said Mr Lait was knocked to the ground and dragged by his feet before being punched repeatedly in the face, leaving him with a swelling over his right eye.

In the early hours of the following morning in The Borough area of the city, a neighbour heard someone crying out: “I can’t see, I can’t see!”

Watson was also heard to shout: “Are you asking for more?”

Mr Lait had been “beaten, kicked, punched and stamped on repeatedly”.

The prosecutor added that the victim, who was in his 40s, was found bleeding from his eye and taken to the William Harvey Hospital where he was operated on for a ruptured right eyeball.

She added that several weeks later, he has only 10 per cent vision and the long-term effect of the injury is still uncertain.

The court heard that on a separate occasion, Allen was seen in a stolen car and tried to evade being arrested. He admitted driving dangerously.

Ben Irwin, for Watson, said the father-of-two was sleeping in multi-storey car parks but wanted to become a fitness instructor.

Jailing them, the judge said: “Whatever the reason behind the argument, both of you decided you were going to beat your victim up. He was targeted by you.

“This was a most brutal kicking and both of you are regarded as posing a danger in the future of causing significant harm.”