TWO men, one from Belbroughton, who carried out a drunken attack on a driver in a Bromsgrove street, stamping on his head, have been spared jail because of delays in the legal process.

Chance Hancox punched the victim in the face and Christopher Roberts from Belbroughton stamped on his head in a "cowardly" assault while he was on the floor on the night of February 7, 2014, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Recorder Mr Justin Wigoder told them that if the case had not been delayed by more than two years, they would both have gone straight to jail.

The victim, John White, was driving home in the Charford area of Bromsgrove, Paul Mytton prosecuting, told the court. Hancox, now aged 20, and Roberts, now 21, had been drinking and were stumbling around in the road.

Mr White tried to drive past and accidentally hit Hancox without much force, Mr Mytton said. There was an altercation and he punched Mr White in the face which knocked out a tooth. Mr White fractured his wrist as he fell to the floor and Roberts stamped several times on his head.

Roberts, of Woodgate Way, Belbroughton, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm when the case first reached court in November, 2014 but Hancox, of Salwarpe Road, Bromsgrove, pleaded not guilty to the charge, claiming he had acted in self-defence. Roberts said he had drunk so much he could not recall the incident.

The case came before the court on several occasions but was not proceeded with until Monday, April 25, this year when Hancox changed his plea to guilty on the day of a trial.

In a victim statement, Mr White said he still needed dental treatment and he had suffered nightmares after the attack. His wrist was in plaster for 10 weeks.

Charles Hamer, defending Hancox, said reports showed he was on the autistic spectrum. He had only been in minor trouble since the assault and was very ashamed of his actions.

Lee Masters, for Roberts, said he wanted to apologise.

"He pleaded guilty and did everything he could to ensure Mr White would get closure at a far earlier point," Mr Masters said.

Roberts, who now works as a chef, had had the threat of a jail sentence hanging over him for more than two years and had no intention of getting into trouble again, he said.

Recorder Wigoder said Hancox had been "spoiling for a fight" and Roberts had carried out a "cowardly" attack on a man on the floor in the street after they had been drinking.

The case, he said, had an "unhappy history before the courts which can have done nothing to give Mr White, the innocent victim, any confidence in the system."

"If this had been dealt with at or nearer the time as it should have been, you would both have been going straight to prison and not for a short time," he told the two men. "This sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated."

But he had decided that the only way to do justice to everyone involved two years and two months later was to suspend the sentences.

Roberts was given a 12 month sentence suspended for two years, and ordered to do 240 hours unpaid work. He will also have to wear an electronic tag on a three month curfew from midnight to 8am to fit in with his work hours.

Hancox was given a six month sentence suspended for 12 months with a supervision requirement and a three month electronic curfew from 8pm to 7am.

Both were ordered to pay a token £250 as compensation to Mr White.