A Portland man left with horrific facial injuries in a savage bottle attack has spoken of his relief after his 'out of control' attacker was jailed.

Richard James Atkinson, aged 46 and of Coronation Road, Portland, was handed a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to wounding his victim with intent to do him grievous bodily harm.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Atkinson hitting Mr Rose in the face with a vodka bottle before kicking him repeatedly.

Atkinson also received an 18-month sentence, to run concurrently, for his use of an offensive weapon in the attack.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard at the sentencing hearing that the defendant had been nursing an unfounded grudge against the victim at the time of the attack, suspecting him wrongly of having spiked his partner's drink earlier that year.

Prosecutor Edward Phillips said that on the day of the incident on April 7 this year, the victim was cleaning his car in front of his home when Atkinson and his partner passed by, Atkinson carrying a 35cl bottle of vodka that he and his partner had bought after leaving a nearby pub.

Seeing the victim, Atkinson crossed the road to confront him. CCTV footage of the incident shows the pair arguing while their partners and passersby, including young children, appear to intervene. The footage then shows the defendant raising the bottle in his hand and striking his victim in the face with such force that the bottle shatters.

Atkinson was arrested the following day and later pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent.

Mr Phillips explained that the man was left with a wound measuring some five centimetres in depth, running perpendicular to his jawline.

In a statement read out to court, the victim spoke of the blurred vision, dizziness and migraines he had suffered, as well as loss of taste and smell, along with serious psychological repercussions including panic attacks and sleeplessness.

"I have always prided myself on being a big, strong man, but I have lost my confidence since the attack," he said in the statement, adding that he had also lost nearly a stone in weight.

Sentencing Atkinson to five years behind bars, Judge Brian Forster QC stressed that the attack appeared clearly premeditated, pointing to the defendant's reported comments, at the Portland Social Club in March, that he intended to 'bottle' his victim in revenge for allegedly spiking his partner's drink.

"Your approach to the victim was quite menacing, and showed that you were out of all control," the judge said. "This is a very serious offence, and goes to show the consequences when you take the law into your own hands."

Mitigating, Lee Christmas said that Atkinson's grudge against Mr Rose had been based on a 'sincere belief' in the latter's wrongdoing, but that he now accepted he was wrong and was 'truly remorseful' for his actions.

Speaking after the sentencing, the victim told the Echo that he was mostly pleased by the decision.

"A dangerous man is off the streets and behind bars," he said. "I'm relieved. I was hoping for a longer sentence, but I'll take this."

He added that the incident continued to take a mental toll even as the physical impact diminished. "I'm jumpy, and suffering panic attacks," he said. "I don't feel like the same person.

"But I'm glad to see [Atkinson] behind bars. It's the best place for him."