Jay Hope, 29, repeatedly struck William Wilson, a part time barman, on the head and body to his severe injury with a piece of wood in a sustained attack which has resulted in the victim being off work for more than nine months.

The court was told the men had earlier had a row in a Hawick pub after the victim's girlfriend had become friendly with Hope.

After leaving the pub 48-year-old Mr Wilson was confronted by Hope who struck him several times with the weapon breaking his arm, four fingers and extensive bruising to the face.

It emerged the victim's arm has still not healed properly since the attack last November in North Bridge Street, Hawick.

Sally Clark, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing how Mr Wilson and his girlfriend Victoria McCue had been out drinking on the day in question and later that evening went to the Waverley Bar to watch a football game.

She said:"After the football had finished the complainer spoke to a male who was unknown to him but was later identified as the accused.

"The accused also spoke to Miss McCue.

"At about 11.30p.m. the complainer and Miss McCue left the Waverley Bar to go to the Istanbul fast food take away.

"Having purchased food from the tekaway they made their way along North Bridge Street towards Burnfoot. As they were making their way along the complainer saw the accused coming towards them.

"He seemed to appear from the dark and walking on the same side of the pavement as them. They bopth recognised him from the Waverley Bar.

"They also noted he was holding something in his hand which looked like a solid wooden table loeg about two to three feet in length.

"Miss McCue then shouted to the complainer "run Willie" and the complainer attempted to get out of the accused's way.

"However he tripped and landed on his knees. The accused then began to repeatedly hit the complainer on the head and body using the table leg.

"The complainer put his arms and hands up as he tried to shield himself and was repeatedly hit on the left arm. He also had an abrasion to the right eye.

"Miss McCue attempted to intervene to stop him hitting the complainer.

"The accused was seen to punch the complainer twice to the head and this continued until an unknown bystander came out of a house and shouted at the accused and this had the effect of stopping the fight.

"The complainer got to his feet and ran off and the accused walked away."

The fiscal said the pair were both picked up by police and Mr Wilson was taken to Borders General Hospital where he was treated for abrasions and lacerations to the head, cuts to the left ear, grazes and bruises to the upper body, bruising to the right eye, a fracture to his forearm and four fractures to fingers.

"The injury to the arm, known as a nightstick fracture, was consistent with a person using their arm to block an attack."

She added that a five cm fracture to his olna had not repaired properly and it is still too early to say whether a subsequent operation has been successful and that the accused still had problems with mobility.

Miss Clark said he had still not returned to the work since the attack nine months ago.

Defence lawyer Colin McNab accepted it was a "serious crime of violence."

He said:"The lady had attracted Mr Hope's attention and there was within the public house a verbal altercation between Mr Hope and Mr Wilson.

"Mr Wilson appeared to take offence because of the banter going on between Mr Hope and Miss McCue.

"Mr Hope admitted that after they left the pub for the takewaway, he approached Mr Wilson about the comments in the pub."

Mr McNab said that in the nine months he had known Mr Hope, he had witnessed "the greatest transformation in any client he had ever seen."

He explained how he had come to the Borders from Lanark to get away from trouble he had been involved in and shortly after had committed the offence.

Mr McNab said:"My client wishes he could turn the clock back, not only for himself but for Mr Wilson."

Sheriff Kevin Drummond noted that details of the attack in background reports prepared by social workers differed from the version given by the Crown.

Hope, who runs a landscaping business with his new partner, claimed he had been acted in self-defence after being attacked.

Sheriff Drummond said:"I am relying on the version given by the Crown in that it was an unprovoked attack with a weapon in the street which has had long term consequences for the victim. It was a sustained assault with a degree of premeditation following verbal exchanges in a pub. I cannot ignore that it was a sustained assault to severe injury and permanent impairment."

The jail sentence was backdated to July 31 when Hope was remanded in custody