A tree surgeon has been jailed for a ’barbaric’ assault.

And Mark Galbraith received a further prison term for a second offence of grievous bodily harm he committed with his brother Paul, while on bail for the first attack.

Deemster Graeme Cook jailed Mark Galbraith for a total of 48 months with an extended licence period of three years, telling him: ’The public need protection from you.’

The 34-year-old defendant was described in court by his defence advocate Paul Glover as an ’extremely skilled and well-respected tree surgeon’.

Mr Glover said it was ’basically time for him to grow up’ and his client was looking forward on his release from prison to taking on an element of government contract work in relation to overhanging trees on the railway lines.

Mark Galbraith admitted two offences of GBH and his brother Paul pleaded guilty to one count of the same charge.

Deemster Cook sentenced 25-year-old Paul Galbraith to 21 months in jail. He will serve half that in custody and remain on licence for the rest of his sentence.

Both men had been on remand for a considerable time - Mark Galbraith for just short of 18 months and his younger brother for 313 days.

Prosecutor Rachael Braidwood previously told the court that the first assault took place on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, 2017.

The victim had received a message from his ex-girlfriend asking him to go round to her home on Spring Valley Road, Douglas, as she was upset.

When he got there, she led him into the kitchen and a short time later there was a knock at the front door and Mark Galbraith entered with a second man Carl Glover.

Glover punched the victim and threw him to the floor, where he kicked him repeatedly in the face.

Galbraith then stepped forward, accusing the man of ’slagging him off’, and punching him twice to the side of the face, causing him to fall to the floor again.

The two attackers then kicked their victim in the face a further six times, Galbraith telling him: ’You gonna cry yet?’

The victim suffered fractures to his cheekbone and is still receiving dental treatment for his cracked teeth.

Deemster Cook told Mark Galbraith that his victim had been left with ’long-standing problems caused by you and Carl Glover’s barbaric acts going back to 2017’.

Glover is serving a 27-month jail term for his part in the attack.

The second offence took place on Friday August 30, 2019. At just before 3pm that day, police received a 999 call to go to Annacur Lane where an assault had taken place.

The victim was at home with one of his sons when he was told that a Galbraith pick-up truck was parked at the back blocking in his own van.

He went outside to find Mark Galbraith leaning over the van’s open bonnet removing nuts and bolts from the top of the engine.

The victim confronted him, saying: ’What the hell do you think you’re doing - that’s my van!’

Galbraith, of Cushag Road, Anagh Coar, claimed he had been told by another man he could remove parts from the vehicle and he had paid £200 to do so.

He was told he had no right to take anything and to put everything back, which Galbraith did.

But then Paul Galbraith, of Derby Road, Douglas, arrived in a BMW with his mother.

The victim said he was going to call the police and then felt a ’whack’ to the back of his head and another to the side. He fell forward and received further blows to his body.

As he tried to cover himself, he was kicked punched and stamped - witnessed by his two sons who said both brothers were kicking and punching their father.

The Galbraiths then drove off.

The assault was recorded on CCTV cameras at the nearby car park of the Heron pub.

Deemster Cook said the victim had been left with long-lasting injuries, mental more than physical, as a result of the attack.

Mark Galbraith, who has previous convictions for affray and common assault, will serve two thirds of his sentence before his automatic release on licence.

During the sentencing, the Deemster also criticised an ’ill-informed’ judgment by the Court of Appeal in relation to the Carl Glover conviction.

He said the appeal court had used ’old law’ which had been superseded by three more recent cases when it ruled that Glover had been entitled to a one third discount on his sentence.

But he was obliged to follow the Staff of Government’s judgment which meant that he had to give the same one-third credit to Mark Galbraith.