Two thugs jailed for a total of 24 years for carrying out revenge hammer attack on rival after bursting into his home in Wetherby

Mark Sanderson and Louis Harrison carried out the attack as revenge following a disturbance at a pub in Wetherby.

Leeds Crown Court heard the victim had been in a fight with Harrison at the Black Bull on August 30, 2019.

The man returned home after the incident and fell asleep on the sofa.

Later that evening Sanderson and Harrison broke down the door of his home and attacked him with the weapon.

A jury heard how the victim was struck as he lay curled up in a ball on the floor.

He suffered multiple wounds to his head, back and arms.

Sanderson and Harrison were found guilty of aggravated burglary after a trial.

The court heard how the defendants decided they would "exact revenge" on the victim over the earlier clash in the pub in which Harrison was punched.

They first went to the home of another man and demanded to know where the victim lived.

They threatened to damage the man's property unless he showed them.

They then drove to the victim's home in Harrison's work van.

The victim provided a statement to the court describing the physical and psychological suffering he has gone through since the incident.

He suffers from epilepsy and his condition has been made worse as a result of his injuries.

He said: "There will never be enough words to explain the impact it has had on my life and my family's life."

Sanderson, 31, of Croft Drive, Wetherby, has a number of previous convictions for violence dating back to 2006.

In 2013 he was jailed over a drunken attack in which he punched a man to the ground and bit his face.

Harrison has previous convictions for robbery and assault.

Recorder Kirstie Watson gave Sanderson an extended sentence of 13 years as she considered him to pose a serious risk of committing further violent offences in the future.

He must serve a custodial term of 11 years, two-thirds of which must be spent in prison, followed by a further two-year licence period.

Harrison, 34, Hallfield Crescent, Wetherby, was given an 11-year sentence.

Recorder Watson said: "You decided together that you would exact revenge on (the victim) and that is exactly what this was - an act of revenge."

Michael Greenhalgh, mitigating for Sanderson, said: "He recognises that it was wrong and that he will be punished for it."