A THUG carried out a "sustained and unprovoked" assault on another man in broad daylight, earning him prison time.

Ian Morys appeared at Worcester Crown Court where he was jailed for two years following the brutal attack, which happened in Evesham Town Centre in April this year.

The 41 year-old appeared via video-link from HMP Hewell where he admitted a Section 20 wounding charge, denying a second charge of Section 18 wounding.

Both charges relate to an incident on April 24 this year, when Morys assaulted Jimmy Smith in Evesham Town Centre.

The court heard how the two knew each other and had been out drinking the night before.

In the shocking assault, footage of which was shown in court, Morys is seen walking up to the bench where Mr Smith was sat before raining punches on him.

William Dudley, prosecuting, said: "The complainant and defendant were known to each other on quite convivial terms.

"On the day in question, the complainant was out in Evesham and was sat on a bench.

"He saw the defendant and went to greet him, but the defendant aimed a kick at him. Some witnesses said it was to the head, others to the chest or stomach."

The kick knocked Mr Smith back onto the bench where he was sitting, and video footage filmed by a passer by shows Morys repeatedly hitting him while he was sat down.

Mr Dudley continued: "The complainant was taken to hospital where he required metal plates in his cheek and stitches.

"He suffered a fractured eye socket and the doctor who treated him provided a statement confirming the fractures as well as an impingement of the eye muscle."

The court heard how Morys had been jailed back in 2019 for a low level public order offence.

For this, he had been jailed for 25 months, so he was on licence when the assault took place.

Wearing a Nike sweatshirt, Morys appeared unemotional throughout, replying "Yeah, sure I am" when asked to confirm his identity in court.

Mr Dudley also told the court how, in the days following the assault, Morys had contacted the complainant to threaten him against making a police statement, telling him he himself would be sent to prison.

During the hearing, Judge Martin Jackson had to tell some members of the public who were there in support of Morys to be quiet in the dock.

He said: "If your conversation is that important, go outside. You cannot talk during the hearing, it is distracting."

Representing Morys, Jason Patel said Morys accepted he would likely be sent to prison and that he was remorseful for his actions.

He said: "Mr Morys is realistic, he knows it is going to be a custodial sentence.

"He was released on licence back in March 2020 and has family up in the lake district.

"He had been previously employed at a building company down in Oxford."

Mr Patel added Morys had been seeking help for mental health issues having attempted to take his own life in prison.

He added: "He has been doing well on licence and now has weekly counselling.

"He very much regrets and is remorseful for these actions."

Judge Jackson jailed Morys for two years for the assault, with no action taken on the section 18 charge due to the prosecution not offering any evidence.

He said: "You were on licence when you launched an unprovoked attack on Jimmy Smith in the centre of Evesham.

"Whatever may have occurred, you chose to go over to him in the sight of other members of the public and started off by aiming a kick at him, following it up with a number of blows when he was still sat down.

"The injuries he suffered required surgery, which tells of the force you used."

Giving him one third credit for a guilty plea, Judge Jackson jailed Morys for two years as well as ordering him to pay a victim surcharge.

No order was made for costs and compensation.