A dad who punched a man to the ground – leaving him with brain damage so severe he will spend the rest of his life in care – has been spared prison.

Buster Lakey was allowed to walk free after admitting the attack on Mark Hughes in Ramsgate.

Lakey, a 28-year-old railway engineer from Margate, knocked Mr Hughes unconscious after a whisky tumbler was thrown at his car , smashing his windscreen and sparking a confrontation.

During a trial at Canterbury Crown Court in August, a jury learned how the injury resulting from Mr Hughes’ head hitting the pavement caused catastrophic brain damage.

But the full extent of his suffering was laid bare on Friday during a sentencing hearing at the same court, as his attacker was given a two-year custodial term suspended for two years.

Mr Hughes’ sist

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