A DRUNKEN thug who crippled a man for life with a single blow from a pool cue has been jailed for more than ten years.
Unemployed scaffolder David Hay claimed another man was to blame for the attack in a pub in Leven, Fife but a jury unanimously found him guilty of attempted murder.
A trial at the High Court in Edinburgh heard victim Kenneth Dick was left partly paralysed by the attack at Blazers Fun Pub in February.
He needed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure caused by bleeding inside his skull and now suffers from impaired vision.
The 44-year-old needs medication to control life-threatening fits and has to be fed through a tube because he is unable to swallow properly.
Dr Lance Sloan, a consultant in rehab medicine, told the court: "He will be in hospital for the foreseeable future. The prognosis for significant recovery is very bleak."
Sentencing 45-year-old Hay, from Methil, for the pool cue attack, judge Lady Clark of Calton said she had taken into account the fact that he did not carry out a prolonged attack on Mr Dick.
However, she added: "The one blow you struck on the victim's head with a pool cue has resulted in the most devastating life-long consequences for the victim.".
Lady Clark added three months to the ten year sentence because Hay was on bail at the time and described the amount he had drunk that night as "enormous".
Hay's solitictor told the court that doctors had been unable to say how Mr Dick's condition had been affected by being dumped in the street after the attack.
The court heard Mr Dick had been left on a cold, wet pavement to wait for an ambulance by a barman afraid the pub could be closed down.
The trial heard how barman Alan Laverty feared the pub's licence was "on a shaky nail" after allegations of drug use there.
Laverty, from Leven, pleaded guilty to trying to defeat the ends of justice and was jailed for 18 weeks in September for trying to do his boss a favour.
He admitted cleaning up the bar, getting others to carry the unconscious Mr Dick outside and telling ambulance personnel that the man had fallen and hit his head on the kerb.
Laverty said he regretted his actions and later gave evidence against Hay, who had attempted to blame the assault on another man.
During the trial, 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 found on Hay's jeans.
Defence advocate Jonathan Crowe had challenged their story, suggesting regulars and bar staff had got together to blame outsider Hay and keep the pub in Leven's Commercial Road away from the attention of the local licensing board.
Former oil rig worker Hay, who was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in 1996, was also made subject to an order extending the time he spends on licence, after his prison term, by five years.
Last updated: 03 November 2009, 14:07
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