Two Rhondda men who left a man for dead on a pavement after beating him with a metal bat have been jailed.

Callum Thomas, 23, of Porth and Nathan Emery, 26, of Tonypandy, beat their victim so hard that he was in a coma and hospitalised for months before being released from the hospital on Christmas Eve with life-changing injuries.

At approximately 1.45 am, on 6th September 2020, the victim – a 26-year-old local man – had volunteered to walk a female friend home after a night out to prevent her from walking home alone.

He bumped into her outside Squares nightclub, where they had both been that evening.

Whilst they walked along Pontypridd Road, the victim was struck on the hand by a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Callum Thomas. The car stopped further down the road and reversed back up a one-way system before speeding off and disappearing.

But Thomas circled the one-way system and returned to where the victim and his friend were outside the Chequered Flag garage in Porth.

Thomas and his friend Emery, a front-seat passenger in the Golf, got out of the car and approached them with Thomas carrying a metal baseball bat he regularly kept in his car.

They both attacked the victim – Thomas repeatedly struck him with the bat despite the man being on the ground. The witness recalls Emery saying, ‘That’s enough’ – before they got back in the car and drove off, leaving their victim unconscious with blood pouring from his head.

Both men were arrested shortly after and taken into custody.

A police investigation used extensive CCTV enquiries, forensics, phone work, a vehicle examination and other witness accounts to link Thomas and Emery to their crime.

Callum Thomas was charged with possessing an offensive weapon and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, and Nathan Emery was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Both were found guilty at Merthyr Crown Court.

They appeared at Merthyr Crown Court on Friday, 18th June 2021.

Callum Thomas was jailed for 13 years, and Emery was jailed for three years.

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Detective Constable Sally Crouch said: “This was a horrific and unprovoked attack on an innocent man who was looking out for a friend so she would not be walking home alone that night. The brutality these two men showed demonstrated an intent to cause real harm, and it is by pure chance that their victim survived, albeit with life-changing and debilitating injuries.

“Their actions have had a devastating impact, not just upon the victim, but his family and also upon his friend who was left terrified and traumatised by what she witnessed.

“Emery showed remorse for his part in the attack throughout the trial and during his testimony, whilst Thomas showed none whatsoever, failing even to acknowledge his presence at the scene.

“They both belong in prison for a long time due to the long-standing impact this attack has had upon the victim and his future.”