A REDDITCH thug who ambushed a man at a bus stop with an axe after months of escalating rivalry has begun a seven year prison sentence.

Yardan Steer, aged 21, of Newland Close, disguised himself with a hoodie and a scarf over his face before hunting down Josh Heason.

Worcester Crown Court heard how he repeatedly hit Mr Heason with the non-sharp side of the hand axe, chasing him for more than 100 yards along Studley Road, Redditch, on April 30.

Sentencing Steer on Monday, August 5, Judge Robert Juckes described how Mr Heason only escaped serious injury as he managed to catch the axe between his arm and his side, preventing Steer from hitting him with it further. When Steer finally managed to wrench it free, he lost his balance and fell, and his victim ran away.

The attack had brought to a head months of "bad blood" between Steer and the Heason brothers, the court was told.

Judge Juckes told him it was a "particularly serious" crime, which had been aggravated by his threatening behaviour towards witnesses including Mr Heason during the trial.

"This case involved you preparing yourself with a hoodie and a scarf to cover your face, and arming yourself with a hand axe, which is a potentially lethal weapon," he said.

"You ambushed Joshua Heason, coming up behind him at a bus stop and hitting him about the head with the axe. Somehow, he was able to deflect some of those blows.

"During the struggle your disguise slipped and he knew who you were. And despite the overwhelming case against you, you insisted on fighting it through."

He handed Steer a seven-year sentence for wounding with intent to cause grevious bodily harm, plus a four-year sentence for possessing an offensive weapon in public, to run concurrently.

He was found guilty by a jury but Michelle Lomas, defending, added he now accepted he had carried out the attack.

The axe was never found.