The family of a German teenager say they wish his attackers had been given sentences to reflect the life-changing injuries they inflicted.

Daniel Ezzedine was left permanently brain-damaged after a brutal gang attack in Canterbury in June 2019.

Before Christmas, two teenage thugs were found guilty of battering the student, who had also been subjected to Nazi salutes. Jack Barron smashed him in the face with a bag likely loaded with bricks, while Luke Fogarolli took a running stamp on the 17-year-old's head.

On Friday, Barron, 17, was sentenced to six years in a young offenders' institute, and Fogarolli, 18, sentenced to six-and-a-half years - including 12 months for a separate matter of dealing Class A drugs.

Daniel's family say they were touched by the “moving speech” given by Judge Simon James, in which he told the defendants their actions had brought “shame on the city”; and are thankful to police for their investigative work.

But they have been left frustrated by the jail terms handed down.

“We had wished for a longer prison sentence for the offenders for what they did to Daniel, because their actions left a lifelong impact on his life and ruined a lot of chances for his future,” they told KentOnline's sister paper, the Kentish Gazette.

“In comparison to this negative effect that he will struggle with for the rest of his life, we feel that the six-year sentence does not represent this enough, also considering the fact that both offenders, after approximately three years' imprisonment, will be released on licence.

“However, we understand that the laws in England, as well as in Germany, differentiate between adults and juvenile offenders.

“We know the judge did his best possible to bring us justice. We can only hope that these perpetrators will not do this to anyone else or worse.”

After the attack, Daniel was given just a 30% chance of survival by doctors but miraculously pulled through.

He underwent surgery to remove part of his brain and insert metal plates in his skull, and now suffers from a number of neurological problems, leaving him unable to speak or read.

His right side is paralysed, giving him very little movement in his right arm and leg.

After a year-long stay in hospital, first in the UK and then in Germany, Daniel is now at home with his family in Mönchengladbach.

They said this week: “We hope that Daniel will regain the complete health he had before the crime.

“It is our biggest wish and our top priority and we are working to the best of our ability to get him there.”

The judge described the attack on Daniel as “pre-planned” and “racially motivated”, but lawyers for both Barron and Fogarolli argued race played no part in their client’s actions.

Daniel’s family said: “Racism should have no place in our society and should be strictly condemned.

“Only if we don’t tolerate such toxic behaviour and racist mindsets will such incidents not happen in the first place. We thank the people of Canterbury for their support and hope that Canterbury is now a safer place for everyone, foreigners and locals alike.”

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