President of the Appeal Court Sir James Astwood gave short shrift to a man convicted of a gang attack which left his victim in a coma.

Kofi Omar Dill, 23, of Eastgate Lane, Pembroke was appealing his two-year sentence for the October 2000 beating of a Sandys man.

But Sir James asked him: "Do you want another ten years? Is that what you want?"

Dill said: "I am appealing the sentence to get at least three months off."

Sir James retorted: "I can take three months off and put on ten years. When you appeal to this court we can change it."

He lamented that Dill had been charged with the minimum offence in the circumstances. Dill was first charged with attempted murder which was then reduced to grievous bodily harm with intent, which carries a ten-year sentence.

This in turn was reduced to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the Crown said footwear worn by Dill had not been analysed by Police and that to make the GBH charge stick it would be necessary to prove he had been directly responsible for the brain injuries.

Dill's 25-year-old victim was left in a pool of blood in Joell's Alley after being kicked and beaten with sticks after originally being confronted outside the Spinning Wheel.