A FORMER Dudley soldier who carried out a "grotesque" attack on a disabled man who was punched, bitten and had an arm badly broken has been locked up for two years.

Marc Holmes was joined by his son Bradley in the savage attack that left their vulnerable victim needing specialist surgery to repair the damage to his left arm.

Michael Allen had a "lifeless and paralysed" left arm and the pair subjected him to a "ferocious, sustained and quite vicious" attack, said Mr William Dudley prosecuting.

He said Marc Holmes - described as being a man of impeccable character who had also worked as a pub bouncer - had earlier exchanged words with Taryn Dabbs who was the girlfriend of Mr Allen.

They had all been drinking in Monty's Bar in the Bull Ring at Sedgley and when things became heated the door staff had to eject Marc Holmes.

Afterwards he was clearly in high spirits and he was "looking for trouble," Mr Dudley told Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He was joined by his 22-year-old son - also a man of previous good character - and they pounced on Mr Allen when he came out of the bar and he was "left battered and bruised from top to bottom."

Miss Dabbs tried to protect her partner and she sustained two black eyes and bruising when she was repeatedly punched by Marc Holmes in a brutal incident captured on CCTV.

Recorder Peter Ievins told Marc Holmes the nine people who had sent glowing character references to the court must have been mystified by his behaviour that night.

He said 45-year-old Holmes and his son had clearly downed "vast" amounts of alcohol before the incident and the fact the father had been assaulted by the door staff was no reason for the attack.

"Without provocation you set about beating up a man who had nothing to do with what went on before," said the Recorder.

"This was a piece of vicious nastiness."

Marc Holmes of Brookdale, Dudley and his son Brandon of Barn Owl Place, Dudley both admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Allen.

The father further admitted assaulting Miss Dabbs causing her actual bodily harm.

Brandon Holmes was given a 16 month jail term suspended for two years and told to carry out 210 hours unpaid work in the community.

The Recorder told them both it must have been obvious Mr Allen did not have the use of his left arm and he ruled he was just able to avoid sending Brandon Holmes into custody because he was a man who "had a lot to learn."

Mr Mohammed Latif defending the son told the court he joined the attack in a "moment of madness" and he fully accepted there was no justification for his actions.

Mr Sunit Sandhu for Marc Holmes said that like his son he had been shocked when he saw the CCTV adding, "What he did was totally out of character. He was not aware the victim was vulnerable."