A pair of thugs who brutally attacked a man have ben locked up after they knocked their victim unconscious and continued the assault while he was prone on the ground.

Shaun Chester and Nathan Bain violently assaulted the man following dispute outside Burger King in Darlington town centre.

CCTV footage showed Chester throwing several punches at the victim before being grabbed in a bear-hug and his friend Bain started pummelling the victim from behind.

Uzma Khan said Chester was biting the face of the victim as he held him in a bear-hug before kicking and punching the man when the pair knocked him to the ground.

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The court heard how the row started when the victim's partner get into a dispute with another woman and the man tried to intervene but Chester told him "leave them to it" before starting to throw punches.

Bain lashed out at the victim’s partner as she tried to intervene saying: "I don’t give a s*** about hitting a lass".

The Northern Echo: Nathan BainNathan Bain (Image: Durham Constabulary)

The CCTV caught Chester punching a Burger King worker who had come out of the now-closed takeaway in an attend to break up the fight.

Miss Khan said the victim suffered a fractured ankle which resulted in him requiring surgery and losing thousands of pounds in lost wages.

In a victim impact statement, he said he continues to suffer pain from his ankle as a result of the attack at around 8pm on July 12, 2019.

Chester, of Clarence Corner, Newton Aycliffe, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and an additional offence of affray.

The Northern Echo: Shaun ChesterShaun Chester (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Michele Turner, representing the 25-year-old, said her client had served a custodial sentence for offences committed after he was arrested for the attack and has made positive progress with the Probation Service.

She added: “This is an offence of some age now and there have been some intervening custodial sentences – I would ask for this sentence to be suspended.”

While Bains, of Dickens Street, Spennymoor, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

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Harry Crowson, presenting the 24-year-old, said his client accepted that the custody threshold had been passed but this was his first offence despite serving a prison sentence since the assault.

He added: “He was making some extraordinarily immature decisions at the time.”

Recorder Aisha Wadoodi sentenced the pair to 15 months in custody for the brutal attack.

She said: “Mercifully for you both, people intervened to stop the attack.”