Four jailed after 'feral' attack left man with punctured lung in Carmarthen

FOUR young men who savagely beat a man in Carmarthen — leaving him with broken ribs and a punctured lung — have been jailed.

A judge in Carmarthen described their actions as "feral — like a pack of wild animals out of control".

They were among six young men who beat the 45-year-old in Jackson's Lane, punching and kicking him repeatedly as he lay on the ground.

At one point — captured on CCTV — two of the men took turns to stab at the man on the floor with a broken wooden fence post, the court heard.

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Appearing in Carmarthen Crown Court on Monday were Manuel Da Costa, 20, of The Grove, Carmarthen, Matthew Justin Hollamby, 20, of Tunbridge Wells and Zac Sears, 18, of Francis Terrace, Carmarthen.

A fourth defendant, aged under 18, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

All had previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

Two other teenagers, aged under 18, had previously been jailed for 10 months by Carmarthen Youth Court.

Prosecuting barrister Craig Jones said the incident happened at 10.30pm on July 22 last year.

He said Robert McLavy was walking home after a night out when he was called over by the group.

He became angry after one of the teenagers tried to set fire to his shirt using a cigarette lighter.

"It was at that point, the group closed ranks," he said.

He said the group chased after Mr McLavy who fell over a wooden fence surrounding the grassed area at the bottom of Jackson's Lane.

Mr Jones added: "He is then repeatedly punched and kicked to the face and arms by all the youths involved."

He said the youth in court was seen to kick Mr McLavy 13 times with full-power kicks.

Mr McLavy was kept in hospital for four days and Mr Jones said it was lucky his skull had not been fractured.

The court heard mitigation from all four defendants, saying the attack was out of character and they were remorseful for their behaviour.

Judge Peter Heywood said: "This was a totally disgraceful incident, taking place in the centre of Carmarthen. You acted like an unruly mob."

He added: "Your behaviour was feral — like a pack of wild animals out of control and you showed no mercy to Mr McLavy at all.

"He was given a savage beating. Perhaps by mere luck than judgement, his injuries were not more serious.

"I take the view I would be failing in my public duty if I dealt with this otherwise than an immediate custodial sentence."

All four defendants were then sentenced to 10 months imprisonment in a young offenders institute.