A THUG who punched a pensioner on the street without warning and left him with permanent brain damage has been jailed for three years.

Brian Warden, 36, attacked 77-year-old Owen Hagan in the unprovoked attack as the pensioner walked past him and his wife in the street.

The brute had earlier been seen arguing with his partner and was spotted punching and head butting walls.

He smacked the retired school teacher and continued on, leaving the injured man unconscious and bleeding on the street.

Warden, who claims to have little recollection of the evening, handed himself in to police the next day after a media appeal, to see if he had any involvement.

The dad-of-three, from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to assaulting Mr Hagan on March 23, 2018,to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life.

On that occasion, sheriff Norman Ritchie QC said he was considering remitting the matter to the High Court for sentencing but, today, said he would not be.

The sheriff acknowledged it was out of character for Warden and accepts his remorse is genuine.

The OAP, now wheelchair-bound, is in danger of taking seizures and will have to sell his home to pay for his care at £950 per week.