by Keith Hunt

A dad has been jailed for helping his stepson take violent revenge on a teenage schoolboy.

Milo Wilson reacted after his son Daniel went home in distress with blood pouring from his ear.

He and his wife took their son to hospital and as they drove through the Stanhope estate in Ashford he saw a boy he believed had assaulted him.

Wilson, 39, stopped the car and got out holding a large wrench. He took hold of Grant Ray, 15, turned him around and his stepson punched him.

"He was knocked to the ground and kicked by your stepson on the ground with your active encouragement," said Judge Jeremy Gold QC.

"I accept the evidence that you demonstrated to your stepson how best to kick him on the ground."

The victim suffered a fit as he lay on the ground in great distress. Wilson and his stepson ran off. They were arrested at the William Harvey Hospital.

Wilson, of Frittenden Close, Ashford, denied assault causing actual bodily harm but was convicted by a jury.

His stepson was sentenced in the youth court after admitting the same offence.

Prosecutor Donna East had alleged that Wilson struck the boy with the wrench, knocking him unconscious.

Wilson accepted being present during the violence but claimed the fight was between his son and Grant Ray. He denied having a spanner or encouraging his son to commit assault.

Jailing him for nine months, Judge Gold told him: "In the cool light of day I am sure you accept that to behave like that to anyone is to put them in grave danger.

"As it happened, this lad was kicked unconscious. He could have been very badly injured indeed."

The judge said he took into account that the offence was more than three years old, having been committed in October 2007.

But he added: "The worst aspect of this case is you, the father of this lad, were actually showing him how to beat someone up and kick them on the ground.

"That is absolutely unacceptable. I am prepared to accept you must have been upset about your son and his condition that day.

"But this is absolutely misguided. This is no way to bring up a boy to deal with situations like this."

Benjamin Hargreaves, defending, submitted the most serious aspect of the case was encouraging his stepson on how to stamp on the victim.

"He became involved on the spur of the moment. He did pull his son away. He was upset about the injury caused to his son," he said.

"He took matters far too close to his son. He was acting out of anger and concern for what happened to his son.

"They had only just moved to the area. They didn't want their son bullied. Clearly, this was a step too far."

Mr Hargreaves said he questioned the value of imposing a prison sentence.

Wilson, who had never been in trouble before, was not working but could carry out unpaid work imposed with a suspended sentence.