The court heard how Pass mistook Mr Crocker for a vandal

Edwin Pass, 35, of Comins Coch, Aberystwyth punched and kicked Michael Crocker as well as hitting him with an 11 inch metal torch.

His attack on Mr Crocker's dog, Willow, was so severe that the 14-year-old lurcher had to be put down.

Pass was jailed for 18 months at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to unlawfully wounding Mr Crocker.

It was like he was going into Iraq. It is the law of the jungle taking over in the middle of Wales, Judge Gerald Price

He was jailed for another two months for injuring the dog.

The court heard that Pass and his brother ran a forestry business near Aberystwyth and were on patrol following a spate of thefts and damage.

The pair spotted Mr Crocker's van parked on a track and, mistaking him for a vandal, confronted him on his return from a walk.

Repeated kicking

Mr Crocker, 42, a landscape gardener, told the brothers he was not connected with the vandalism and invited them to search his van.

But Edwin Pass suddenly knocked Mr Crocker to the floor before hitting him another five times, the court was told.

Mr Crocker pleaded for him to stop but Pass screamed he was going to kill him.

The court heard that by this time, Crocker was curled up in a ball and lying on the ground, while Pass continued the attack by repeatedly kicking him.

Mr Crocker suffered fractures to his skull and a hand as well as cuts and bruises. He has been unable to work since the attack.

'Vigilante law'

Willow also had a fractured skull and internal bleeding which meant the dog had to be put down, devastating the Crocker family.

Pass's barrister, Paul Hobson, said his client had "jumped to conclusions" after spotting Mr Crocker's car in the forest.

Judge Gerald Price said Pass must have gone wild, not only with the attack on Mr Crocker, but on the dog.

"It was like he was going into Iraq. It is the law of the jungle taking over in the middle of Wales," he said.

"This was vigilante law. You meted out summary justice. You have brought disgrace on yourself, you lied to the police and sought to blacken Mr Crocker's character."

Relatives wept at the back of the court as Pass was taken to jail.