SAVAGE ATTACK: the spot under Stoke railway bridge where Mr Plant was attacked. Inset, Umar DRUNKEN Umar Mir left a man with brain damage after stamping and jumping on his head before leaving him for dead in the road.
The 21-year-old was today starting a nine-year jail term following the savage attack on David Plant under Stoke Railway Bridge in the early hours of the morning.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Mir got out of a friend's car then jumped up and down on the defenceless 44-year-old before driving off.
But a public-spirited motorist followed the car and noted the registration, before returning to the scene to help Mr Plant until an ambulance arrived.
Mr Plant's condition was described as life-threatening when he was admitted to hospital and he underwent surgery for numerous fractures to his face.
He is likely to suffer permanent brain damage as a result of the assault.
The court heard Plant was walking home to the Salvation Army hostel in Stoke in the early hours of April 10 when his life changed forever.
He was subjected to a brutal assault and was left in a life-threatening condition
In the prolonged attack, 44-year-old Mr Plant suffered a broken compromised airway, fractured jaw, fractures to both cheekbones and eye sockets, his teeth were knocked out and his body was left covered in bruises.
He was immediately placed on a ventilator before undergoing surgery in hospital where he remained for several days.
His speech has been affected, as has his ability to chew food, and he has been left confused, has a lack of short-term memory and his family say his personality has changed.
And a neuro-psychologist believes Mr Plant is likely to suffer permanent brain damage.
Mir was yesterday jailed for nine years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Heather Chamberlin said Mr Plant had tried but failed to sell a television to a cashier at the Shell Petrol Station in Stoke Road, Shelton, at about 2.30am on April 10.
As he made his way home to the hostel in Vale Street, Stoke, he was savagely attacked.
Miss Chamberlin said: "A Renault Clio had pulled on the petrol station. One man got out, believed to be Mir. He appears to have taken some notice of Mr Plant walking away. That Renault Clio followed in that direction and stopped, letting Mir out.
"What happened next was witnessed by a man stopped at traffic lights. He saw someone jumping up and down on the right hand pavement. He saw one man jumping up and down and two figures run away. The traffic lights changed and he drove across and saw Mr Plant lying on his back on the pavement. He was not moving. He saw the Renault Clio pull away quickly. He made a note of the registration before returning to Mr Plant and contacting the emergency services."
The defendant was arrested and jogging bottoms recovered from his home had Mr Plant's blood on them.
Mir, of Lowndes Close, Penkhull, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The court heard he had previous convictions for violence including one for assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he stamped and kicked a grounded man.
Peter McCartney, mitigating, said Mir regretted the assault. Mr McCartney said: "He regrets hugely what he got himself involved in. It was a very few moments in the life of this young man and the victim. But for each of them it has had catastrophic consequences.
"It was plainly savage. He expresses to me his shame and remorse."
Judge Paul Glenn praised the actions of the motorist who tended to Mr Plant while paramedics arrived and he recommended the Sheriff of Staffordshire should pay him £250 for his public-spirited actions.
Judge Glenn told Mir: "I accept it was a chance meeting, but you instructed the driver of the car to stop so you could attack Mr Plant. It was vicious. You put him to the floor. There was someone else there but he did not participate in the violence.
"On your own account you were drunk. That is an aggravating feature.
"You used a shod foot. Jumping on someone's head and stamping indicates an intention to do really serious injury. The victim was drunk and alone. He was older and less physically capable."
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