Wroughton hammer attacker singled out by judge

4:57pm Friday 9th May 2008

A teenage gang member responsible for "savagely" attacking a schoolboy with a hammer was singled out for the first time by a judge today as she sentenced him to eight years in prison.

Wasif Khan, 19, was one of 13 young Asian men to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today for his part in severely beating Henry Webster to the brink of death, at Ridgeway School in Wroughton, Wiltshire.

Prosecuting counsel were never able to pin the use of the hammer on any of the seven defendants charged with causing grievous bodily harm - but during today's hearing Judge Carol Hagen said she was in "no doubt that the person who held the hammer was Wasif Khan".

The judge imprisoned a total of 10 of the young men, including Khan, and gave suspended sentences to three, for their involvement in the attack which she said had "tragic consequences not only for Henry Webster, but for the defendants too".

The attack in the school tennis courts last year was previously likened to a scene from a Quentin Tarantino film by prosecutor James Patrick.

Ginger-haired Henry was left fighting for his life and needed surgery after the assault which left him with three skull fractures and brain injury.