A former French Foreign Legion soldier attacked a man in the street in the middle of the afternoon, pushing him to the ground and repeatedly kicking him. Philip Harris then lifted the injured man's body and head off the pavement and slammed it back down.
His victim was left with bleeding on the brain, fractures to his jaw and nose, and broken teeth. Swansea Crown Court heard Harris went on to be involved in a standoff with police after he locked himself in his caravan, picked up a box of matches, and threatened to turn on the gas.
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said on the afternoon of December 1 last year Simon Winterfield was driving home in a taxi along High Street in Cardigan town centre when the vehicle passed Harris as he stood outside the Saddler's Arm pub. When the defendant saw the car he spat at its window. The court heard the taxi stopped and Mr Winterfield got out to confront Harris and a "face-to-face" verbal altercation ensued.
