A THUG who left a pensioner confined to a nursing home for life has been jailed for two years for the attack.

Robert Roache was sentenced to a further two years for robbing a drug dealer he had allowed to use his flat.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that the single punch Roache threw at James Copland led to tragedy, as the victim suffered serious head injuries on hitting the pavement.

Mr Copland, now 70, remained in a coma for more than three weeks before his condition improved.

David Ross, prosecuting, said Mr Copland was well known in the Medway area as being the worse for drink.

Late on May 10 2004, he was abusive to three youths in Darnley Road, Strood. The youngsters knew him and were giving as good as they got, said Mr Ross.

Roache was walking along when he saw Mr Copland shouting at the youths and chasing them. He told Mr Copland to leave them alone.

The victim asked Roache what it had to do with him and swore at him.

"At that point, the defendant punched Mr Copland on the jaw once," said the prosecutor. "He fell onto the road and hit his head. Unfortunately, he suffered very severe injuries."

Mr Copland was taken to Medway Hospital, where he remained in intensive care for 10 days. He was "deeply unconscious" until the end of the month.

Mr Ross said the victim now needed full nursing care. "He cannot care for himself," he said. "He has short-term memory loss. He his unable to even name his children. He requires 24-hour supervision."

Roache was on bail for the attack when he committed the robbery.

Mr Ross said the victim, Rasheel Ahmed, was at Roache’s home in Boundary Road, Chatham, on April 11 last year, having gone to Medway from London to sell drugs.

Roache had told Ahmed, who he knew as Lucky, that he could use his flat to weigh up heroin and crack cocaine. In return, he would be given a £20 bag of heroin.

While Ahmed was away from the flat selling drugs, a woman friend of Roache arrived. When Ahmed returned, Roache questioned him about keeping the woman waiting for two hours.

Roache punched Ahmed and took £100 from him. He also took his jeans and gave him another pair to wear.

Louise Oakley, defending, submitted that it was not necessary to impose a sentence for public protection.

Judge Zoe Hammerton said she had decided it was not necessary to impose an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

The facts of the case involving Mr Copland, she said, were regrettably familiar, where one punch had resulted in serious injuries, although none were intended.

The punch had "the most dreadful consequences", as Mr Copland suffered a fracture at the base of his skull and bleeding to the brain.

Roache, who has 73 offences on his record, had been led into a life of crime by his drug addiction.