A MOTHER whose son has been traumatised after being kicked, punched and battered with a baseball bat said she was shocked at the 'lenient' sentences his attackers received.

Thomas Kailofer and Luke Barron chased Christopher Simpson into a shop and cornered him before launching their "sustained and brutal" attack - sparked by a petty squabble.

Mother-of-five Tracy Simpson, 49, speaking on Christopher's behalf, said they had been "put through hell" by the pair, who were told by a judge: "You're lucky it didn't end up with a corpse."

She told The Northern Echo: "I’m shocked by the sentences. They told us they would get seven years or more.

“It’s made Christopher very paranoid. He never goes out at night and he always has to have someone with him.”

Jobless Thomas Kailofer and former council worker Luke Barron pursued Mr Simpson him into a shop in Spennymoor, County Durham, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Barron, 21, chased him around the aisles of the Central Drive store until Mr Simpson was cornered, then 24-year-old Kailofer, captured on CCTV, repeatedly hit his victim with a baseball bat.

Mr Simpson grappled with him on the ground before he was kicked in the head at least twice by bare-chested Barron, said Shaun Dryden, prosecuting.

The shopkeeper tried to intervene but Barron returned and started punching Mr Simpson in the head.

Kailofer shouted to his pal "get me a knife, I'm going to do him" before fleeing.

Three days later, Kailofer saw Mr Simpson in the street and warned him about going to court, yelling: "I'm going to kill you and smash your mam's house up."

Kailofer, of Ash Grove, Spennymoor, admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and witness intimidation, and was jailed for five years and four months.

Barron, of Garmondsway Road, West Cornforth, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent, and was locked up for four years.

His barrister, Judith McCullagh, said he was ashamed, adding: "He acknowledges now that alcohol plays a part in his offending behaviour and he is very keen to try to get that sorted."

Nicholas Cartmell, for Kailofer, who has 40 offences on his record, said: "He is a child of the asbo generation and that has stigmatised him. It has affected his ability to find employment and to find accommodation, and has infiltrated every aspect of his life."

Judge Sean Morris told the pair: "It was a sustained and brutal attack. It is just sheer luck there was not a corpse left on the floor. I have lost count of the amount of murders in my career resulting from one kick to the head.

"The message has to go out. I'm sick to death of seeing pictures of young men kicking people on the ground. Anyone who comes to my court who has kicked someone in the head will go to prison."

The judge told Kailofer he has "an appalling" record and warned that any repeat of serious violence in future could lead to a life sentence.