A father-of-two involved in a "ferocious" gang attack on a Bradford pub-goer has been jailed for three years and nine months.

David Smith was attacked in front of his wife as they walked home and left with serious head injuries.

The attack by a group of men happened in May 2003, in Sydenham Place, Bradford, but a jury heard that even now Mr Smith had no recollection of the beating he suffered.

Stone-dresser Asif Hussain, of Little Horton Lane, Bradford, denied involvement, but in December he was convicted, by a majority verdict of 10-2, of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

During the four-day trial the court heard there had been an earlier incident in The Peel Park pub and it was as Mr Smith, his wife and another couple were walking home that two cars containing about six men pulled up.

Mrs Smith described how the group kicked her husband and he was struck with a yellow object, possibly a crook-lock or baseball bat. He suffered bleeding into his skull and was in hospital three weeks.

Prosecutor Ian Howard revealed yesterday that, in the wake of the incident, a family trip to Australia had to be cancelled. Barrister Mark Fletton, for Hussain, pointed out that his client was a hard-working family man with no relevant previous matters.

He asked Recorder Mushtaq Khokhar to accept his client had suffered some racial abuse in the pub earlier and said Hussain and his partner had suffered previous racial harassment while living in the Scarborough area. "He was remanded in custody after conviction and the days and weeks following that have been extremely unpleasant for him," added Mr Fletton.

Recorder Khokhar told Hussain he had thought of jailing him for five years, but after considering what had been said and written about him he could reduce that.

He said he was prepared to accept that Hussain may have suffered some racial abuse in the pub but described what happened in the street later as "an absolutely disgraceful incident".

"From the evidence I have heard it is clear this was a vicious and nasty assault, not just by yourself but four or five others," Recorder Khokhar added.

"The ferocity of the assault was such that those who witnessed it were horrified by what they had seen.

"In so far as Mr Smith is concerned, his life may never be the same after this attack because we know from the medical evidence he sustained a very serious head injury."