Hammer attack sentences unchanged

Henry Webster suffered a brain injury in the attack

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the sentences of seven young men convicted of battering a Wiltshire boy with a hammer will not be reduced.

Henry Webster, 16, was left fighting for his life after the attack at Ridgeway School in Wroughton in 2007.

The Attorney General requested the cases of six of the attackers be reconsidered.

All seven were convicted of GBH and given jail terms ranging from eight months to eight years.

The seventh defendant, Wasif Khan, appealed in a separate hearing to have his sentence reduced but his also remained unchanged.

The three appeal court judges decided that there were exceptional and unique circumstances that made sentencing in this case a very difficult exercise for the original trial judge.

They said that although sentencing might have appeared lenient, they did not think it appropriate to interfere.

The attack on Henry Webster, who was 15 at the time, was carried out by 18-year-old Wasif Khan, Amjad Qazi, Nazrul Amin, both 20, and four others who cannot be identified.

A fight had been arranged after Henry had "barged" into a group of boys in a school corridor.

It was supposed to be a one-on-one fight, but when Henry arrived at the playground he was attacked by the group.