A man who suffered brain damage after being hit with a pool cue in a pub brawl was dumped in the street.

Barman Alan Laverty arranged for the seriously injured man to be removed from Blazers Fun Pub in Leven, Fife, because he was worried the bar could be shut down.

A trial at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday heard that the pub's licence was "on a shaky nail" because of allegations of drug use.

45-year-old Laverty admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice but said he was acting as a favour to his boss. He was jailed for 18 weeks.

Meanwhile, the thug who struck the blow which crippled 44-year-old Kenneth Dick faces sentence in November.

A jury unanimously found scaffolder David Hay guilty of attempted murder.

But at an earlier hearing, the 45-year-old from Methil had tried to blame another man for the brutal attack in February.

Hay claimed off-shore worker Brian Burt swung the pool cue because he was angry after buying drugs from someone else in the pub - not Mr Dick - and discovering he had been given a short weight.

But witnesses told how they saw Hay with a pool cue in his hand with the "heavy end" pointing towards the ceiling as Mr Dick slumped to the floor. Blood spots matching Mr Dick's DNA were later found on Hay's jeans.

Hay's defence lawyer accused locals of ganging up to point the finger at Hay because he was an outsider. He also suggested witnesses were acting to retain the pub's licence and cover up drug dealing.  

After the assault, Mr Dick was dragged into the street and left for an ambulance. Laverty then told paramedics Mr Dick had fallen and hit his head on the kerb, before denying to police that there had been any fight in the pub.

But a medical consultant told the court that Mr Dick's injuries were so severe, he needed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure caused by bleeding inside his skull.

Mr Dick had previously looked after his wife, who sufferes health problems. But he has been left partly paralysed, suffered damage to his vision and is on medication to control life-threatening fits.

After the jury's guilty verdict Hay was remanded in custody to allow for the preparation of background reports.

Laverty, who had earlier pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice, returned to the dock.

His defence solicitor insisted he had not been trying to protect Hay and insisted he had no idea how badly injured Mr Dick was.

"I suggest that the interests of the pub were at the forefront of his mind when he did whatever he did. Obviously he will now need to pay for that mistake."

"He made the mistake in this particular instance of not thinking straight and doing something extremely stupid."

But his plea to had Laverty a non-custodial sentence was rejected, with the judge saying: "It was a serious offence, bearing in mind he was in charge of the pub at the time."

He was jailed for 18 weeks.