Attack victim left with 'hole in skull'

A Devon man has been jailed for eight years for a hammer attack which left his young victim with "a hole in his skull".

Gary Waeling, 49, smashed 20-year-old Philip Boulton over the head with the hammer outside a pub.

Mr Boulton was left with "bone pushing down into his brain", Exeter Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Nigel Askham said Mr Boulton, who had suffered blood clots on his brain, was left with the life-long risk of epileptic seizures, and would never make a full recovery.

Waeling, from Exeter, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

You left Mr Boulton with a hole in his skull and bone pushing down onto his brain

Mrs Justice Hallett

He was told by Mrs Justice Hallett on Monday: "This is yet another incident of totally unnecessary and dreadful street violence that is all too common in cities like Exeter.

"One cannot understand why someone of your age became involved in violence of this kind," she told three-times married Waeling.

The court had been told that Waeling went out armed with the hammer when his son came home with a friend who had been "glassed" in the pub.

The judge told Waeling that when he armed himself with the hammer to seek revenge and attacked Mr Boulton "you chose the wrong person".

Mr Boulton could no longer work and depended on benefits, the court was told.