THE English victim of a racist assault by Welsh thugs says he is angered that one of his attackers will not be jailed.

Derek Morgan, 45, avoided prison after his involvement in the attack, in which Allan Collins was left permanently disfigured.

Morgan was sentenced to a year in prison, but this was cut to 220 hours of community service at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh last week.

He began his appeal immediately after conviction and was not held in custody while it was heard.

This came as news to father-of-two Mr Collins, 45, of Heaton, Newcastle, who said: "I knew that if you are given a one-year sentence you only serve six months, and I took satisfaction that he was spending Christmas Day inside prison.

"It is ridiculous. It was a pathetic sentence to start with. The system is totally wrong, but unfortunately there is nothing I or anyone can do."

Mr Collins was working as a builder in Inverness, Scotland, in April 2003, at the time of the attack, which took place in a Chinese takeaway.

Inside were Morgan, his brother, Charles, 47, and Charles's son, Carl, 29, of Newport, Wales. After an argument, Mr Collins was set upon and knocked unconscious. He was left with a 10in scar on his stomach.

Morgan and his nephew were given a 12-month sentence for racial assault at the High Court in Edinburgh in July last year.

Charles Morgan was jailed for five years after he was found guilty of stamping on their victim. Mr Collins and his wife Heidi, who have two children, Christopher, 21, and Samantha, 13, are still coming to terms with the ordeal.

Mr Collins said: "I have not been to work since."