A "ferocious" yob who bragged on social media about an attack that left an outnumbered 14-year-old boy with fractures to an eye socket and spine vertebrae burst into tears as he was jailed.

Rhys Brown, from Ramsgate, became tearful on learning his fate at Canterbury Crown Court and then being refused a request to say goodbye to his family sitting in the public gallery.

Similar upsetting scenes had unfolded when the 21-year-old was found guilty by a jury of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and robbery following a trial in October. Having been released on bail, he returned for sentencing on Friday with many loved ones in support.

But they could only look on as a crying Brown first asked "Can I not say goodbye to my family?" and then, having been firmly told "No", pleaded "Not at all?" before being taken from the dock and down to the cells.

The court heard Brown was just 18 when he and two unidentified accomplices kicked, punched and stamped on the teenager during a confrontation outside Ramsgate train station on February 27, 2021.

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was also assaulted with an implement - potentially a metal bar - and even one of his own trainers which was later paraded, bloodstained, on Snapchat with a sinister warning as to the consequences to anyone wanting to "man up".

But on sentencing Brown, Recorder Edmund Fowler remarked the video was in fact "quite ironic" given the cowardly nature of the attack meted out.

Violence flared after the boy, who had been sitting on a wall with his girlfriend, confronted the group on hearing one of them making a comment about being gay.

When Brown began swearing and making threats, the teen punched him, causing him to stumble back with an injury to his nose.

However, following what the judge accepted was an "unwarranted and aggressive" reaction by the youngster, all three then retaliated.

"The next thing he knew he was attacked by all three of your group, with kicking, punching, and stamping on the head and ribs as he lay prone on the ground," said Recorder Fowler.

"Your two associates were the first to desist but you continued, and were described as the most ferocious of the attackers with others calling your name to try and get you away.

"You removed his trainers and then took them away after hitting him with one of them. One bloody trainer then featured in a Snapchat video, warning what happens if someone decides to 'man up', which is quite ironic given this was a cowardly attack."

The judge added that although the boy's initial confrontation had been "perhaps foolish", photographs of his subsequent injuries, which included numerous cuts and abrasions, were "quite horrifying".

"I have read the victim's personal statement where he describes, unsurprisingly, of being traumatised. He had to have time off school and experienced double vision and flashbacks," continued Recorder Fowler.

"He was left anxious and paranoid and struggling because of the ongoing effects of the trauma he suffered."

Recorder Fowler said although the removal and use of the trainers in the assault had added to the victim's degradation, neither the robbing him of his footwear nor the "gay" comment were the motivation for the attack.

He also accepted there was an element of self-defence to Brown's actions "in the very first moments" but said what then followed was prolonged violence. Brown's assertions that he did not know his accomplices were also rejected.

Brown, of Coleman Crescent, Ramsgate, was jailed for three years. The court heard he has no previous convictions or cautions and helped to care for his mother. Six references were also handed in on his behalf.

At trial, he was cleared by the jury of possessing an offensive weapon but the judge said an implement had "clearly" been used by someone among the group.