A man who attacked his girlfriend's father with a six-foot wooden plank had his five-year prison sentence reduced to three years by the Court of Appeal yesterday.

The three-man court unanimously decided that Michael Ameshack Jones, 26, of Kitty's Lane, Hamilton Parish, had received a less than fair sentence for the offence of assault causing grievous bodily harm on Willoughby Woolridge.

During the incident which happened after Jones had an argument with his girlfriend, Jones called the victim more than once before striking him three times, causing the man to fall to the ground.

The court was told that Mr. Woolridge had injured his right hip during a previous bike accident, requiring metal plates and pins put into place in the hip.

The fall caused extensive damage to the hip, requiring a hospital operation.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher argued Jones had no intent to cause re-injury to the victim's hip by striking him.

Furthermore, she believed the original five-year sentence was excessive, citing it was the maximum.

During the deliberations, the court agreed with Ms Christopher by ruling that Jones' sentence, given the circumstances, did not warrant the maximum sentence, as it was at the lower end of the spectrum.

Separately, Jamar Dill, 33, who is serving a five-year prison sentence for violently attacking Gary Raynor along with William Robinson on July 23, 2005, had his appeal application dismissed yesterday.

Lawyer Llewellyn Peniston, for Dill, argued Dill had been "harshly" rewarded for "assisting" Police and the Crown in their investigation and questioned why he received the maximum sentence, the same as his co-accused.

"He had a legitimate expectation that he would receive (a discounted sentence) in exchange for his assistance," Mr. Peniston stated, referring to his client's guilty plea.

Instead, he asked that the court reduce the sentence to three years, if not, it could prove to be a "disincentive" for other criminal defendants cooperating with Police.

However, Crown counsel Cindy Clarke said Dill's case was "not one of assistance" saying Dill only pleaded guilty at the last minute and cited his "history of violence" and convictions.

Furthermore, as in the UK, Ms Clarke stated, one is not guaranteed a discounted sentence automatically because they plead guilty to an offence.

The court unanimously dismissed the appeal on those grounds.