A teenager who left a schoolboy sersiously injured when a dispute escalated has been sent to a Young Offenders Institution for 18 months.

Jamie Pettman, 19, of Belgrave Road, Dover, admitted grievous bodily harm on the 16-year-old.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the boy was waiting for his friends outside a shop in Worthington Street, Dover, at about 9.30pm on Saturday 8 October last year.

The teenager was approached by two men who had been involved in a verbal altercation with his friends earlier in the evening.

The boy pushed one of the men and he fell over. Pettman joined in and as the school friends tried to calm the situation, he ran at the 16-year-old - hitting him on the side of the head and knocking him to the ground.

The boy did not get up and the emergency services were called.

He was taken to the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, but later transferred to Kings College Hospital, London, where he underwent emergency surgery for a serious head injury.

DCI Paul Fotheringham said: "This was a deliberate assault - Pettman ran back and struck a blow that has had devastating consequences for the young man that he hit.

"We believe that the sentence, which took into account that Pettman admitted the offence at the first opportunity, reflects the work of the team of detectives who swiftly identified those involved and were extremely diligent in tracking down witnesses."

For the full story, pick up a copy of the East Kent Mercury - out Thursday.