A thug who launched a vicious attack on a man and caused serious damage to his eye has been jailed for 12 years.
Spencer Harbard punched Clive Heathcote to the ground and then kicked him in the face.
A horrified witness later told police he saw 30-year-old Harbard stamping on the victim’s head.
He afterwards tried to “do a deal” with Mr Heathcote’s family, asking them not to implicate him in the assault.
Harbard, then living at Gravesend Road, Strood, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and perverting the course of justice.
When the Medway Messenger spoke to the victim at the weekend he declined to comment on the verdict but confirmed he had lost the sight in his eye.
Maidstone Crown Court heard both men were at the Inn on the Lake hotel in Shorne on November 5 last year.They went out into the car park and had a conversation for about 10 minutes before Harbard attacked Mr Heathcote.
One witness said he saw the victim walking away when Harbard lunged at him.
Mr Heathcote, he said, collapsed to the ground “like a sack of potatoes”.
He tried to get up but, before he could do so, Harbard kicked him in the face. Mr Heathcote tried to cover his face but Harbard stamped on it more than once with the heal of his shoe, said the witness.
Anne Phillips, prosecuting, said Harbard left the scene and did not give himself up until November 22.
Mr Heathcote was taken to Darent Valley Hospital and then transferred to Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup for surgery to his right eye.
He was left with reduced vision and the prognosis was guarded. He was unsteady on his feet and suffered headaches.
The victim told in a statement how the injury had a considerable impact on his life. He was no longer able to work and had suffered financial problems as a result.
Mrs Phillips said Harbard, who has since moved to Ashford, admitted to a friend: “I think I am in the s---. I don’t know what to do.”
He then made repeated efforts to do a deal with the victim, offering him money and trying to get him to sign a letter saying he was not involved.
Judge Michael Carroll said: “Your victim is facing a lifetime of disability as far as his vision is concerned. There can be no guarantee his full vision will be restored in due course.
“Therefore, a very serious injury is present here. I take the view this was a sustained assault.”
The judge said Harbard kicked the victim with a “shod” foot while he lay helpless on the ground.
“It is said you are remorseful,” he continued. “I take the view that may be present but it is not something that will reduce the sentence or seriousness of this matter.”
He added: “I am absolutely satisfied provocation plays no part in the mitigating circumstances. There is not a scintilla of evidence here of provocation.”
Harbard was jailed for 11 years three months for the assault and nine months consecutive for perverting the course of justice.