A 40-year-old man has been given a five-year jail sentence for a vicious attack at a Worcester railway station in which he kicked a victim's head "like a football".

Judge Alistair McCreath described Jason Shipley as a "dangerous offender" after hearing about another assault in 1999 when his victim was left paralysed.

Shipley, of Chapelon, Tamworth, pleaded guilty to assaulting Edward Clarke, causing him actual bodily harm, on the approach to Shrub Hill station.

Several men were socialising on the station drive on March 11 last year, said Peter Parson, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court.

The victim was drunk and Shipley became angry when there was a reference to tattoos and boxer Mike Tyson being "a pussy".

He aimed a blow at Mr Clarke, who fell to the floor and was repeatedly kicked.

One witness described 20 to 30 blows to the head and said "he was kicked like a football".

He thought that the incident could have resulted in death. Mr Clarke spent several days in hospital suffering from concussion.

Mr Parson referred to a previous incident in Burton in 1999 when Shipley set about a man with a baseball bat, leaving him paralysed.

He was later sentenced to four years jail at Stafford Crown Court for causing grievous bodily harm.

Timothy Green, defending, said Shipley had committed appalling violence but there had been serious soft tissue injuries and no broken bones.

He submitted that Shipley was not a bully addicted to violence, although he tended to erupt after being provoked.

The judge said he would classify Shipley as dangerous and a man liable to be violent after drinking.