THREE men were this week locked up for four years for their part in a brutal attack which left a Basingstoke man in a coma.

Peter Clarke spent six weeks in a coma after his best friend Russell Davis repeatedly stamped on his head. Two other men were also involved in the attack in Popley.

Mr Clarke, 20, has already written several letters to Davis while he was in a young offenders' institution waiting to be sentenced for his part in the brutal assault that has left Mr Clarke mentally and physically handicapped.

Davis and his accomplices, Samir Sheikh and Matthew Powell, were each handed a four-year custodial sentence when they appeared at Winchester Crown Court for sentencing. The trio all pleaded guilty to jointly causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Clarke.

Mr Clarke, who described 19-year-old Davis as being "like a brother" to him in an interview with the police, told The Gazette he plans to visit him to ask the question that has been playing on his mind since he came out of the coma - why?

He said: "I am going to look him in the eye and see what he's got to say. We are such good friends. Not many people would write to the boy who nearly killed them. It's quite a mad concept to think about. I wrote to him first and he was quite surprised to hear from me.

"I have obviously got quite a few questions. He has said, 'I don't really know what to say.' I know they are all sorry, but sometimes sorry is not good enough."

On Monday, the court heard that Mr Clarke was attacked by Davis, from Pitcairn Close, Sheikh, 19, from Tobago Close, and Powell, 20, from Tasmania Close, as he walked home alone down Cayman Close, Popley, Basingstoke, on March 25.

The court heard that on the night of the offence, they had met with friends at The Swan pub, in Basingstoke. Prosecutor Craig Ludlow said that after some talk of Mr Clarke - then a well-known drug dealer who was known as "Pecker" - owing Sheikh and perhaps another of the defendants money, they left early to find him.

Sheikh and Powell, who were in one car, caught up with Mr Clarke at Cayman Close. He said he did not have the money, and Sheikh got out of the car and punched him twice in the face.

Mr Ludlow said: "Mr Clarke was backing off, he fell to the ground, saying, "Stop now!" Mr Sheikh kicked him in the stomach area and elbow-dropped on him twice."

Powell then got out of the car and kicked Mr Clarke in the kidneys twice. By this time, he was not moving.

Mr Ludlow went on: "Mr Davis then got out of the car and ran over and stamped on Mr Clarke's head a number of times.

"It is said that one of Mr Davis' kicks was particularly violent - it was described by a witness as like taking a penalty kick. All three defendants were involved in kicking Clarke throughout the incident."

The court heard the injuries were at first deemed to be life-threatening. Mr Clarke suffered bleeding to his brain and needed to have a tube inserted into his throat to help him breathe, but he had made good progress since he came out of the coma in May.

Mr Clarke has been undergoing rehabilitation at a specialist head injury unit in Bath, but his speech has been badly affected. He has problems with his balance and has lost some use in his left arm. The long-term effects of the damage are still not clear.

Neither Davis nor Sheikh had previous convictions, while Powell has two for public order offences and one for being drunk and disorderly.

Michael Selfe, defending Sheikh, said he appeared to be "genuinely shocked and distressed" by his actions, that he was normally a sensible, polite and helpful person and that he wished to publicly apologise to Mr Clarke through Mr Selfe.

Alex Stein, defending Powell, questioned whether his client's violence was the same level as that of Davis. He added that Powell had no history of repeated drug taking and came from a respectable family.

Frank Abbott, defending Davis, said he was known as a nice and helpful young man, who had been honest from the outset about kicking Mr Clarke in the head and was "consumed with remorse" for his actions, which happened when he was carried away in the heat of the moment.

Referring to the letters from Mr Clarke to Davis, he said: "What he Mr Clarke has said is that he wants to still remain friends, he wants to come and visit him and he wants to put his bygones behind him."

Judge Thomas Longbotham, passing sentence, told the three they had all played a part in the incident so he would give them the same sentence.