THE THREE men in the dock sat transfixed at the court video screen, watching the familiar face of Peter Clarke preparing to answer police questions as the judge viewed the recording to see how he had been affected by the assault.

As their old friend began to speak - his speech slurred because of his injuries - about the night he was attacked, Russell Davis buried his head in his hands and Matthew Powell's forehead furrowed in distress.

Before the court case, Mr Clarke told The Gazette he had known all three of the men for years, and was particularly close to Davis before the assault.

"We Russell and I have laughed and cried together more than I can remember," he said. "I don't really know what to think about what's happened."

But it is not only Mr Clarke who has found the attack difficult to understand.

He said that when he wrote to Davis, the 19-year-old did not know what to say about his actions.

Samir Sheikh's mother, Salma (OK), said she was "absolutely shocked" when she heard that her normally considerate, hard-working son had been involved in the attack.

"When I spoke to him on the phone, he just burst into tears and said, 'Mum, it just got out of hand'," she said. "He said he didn't intend to hurt Pete in any serious way at all, and after it happened he said he was so gutted that the incident ever took place."

Mrs Sheikh's life, and the lives of all the families of the young men involved, have been turned upside down by the assault.

She said: "It has been absolutely devastating. It just kind of hits you. You read an article in a newspaper and you think, 'Oh my gosh, a boy's been beaten up,' but you never for one second think it's going to be on your own doorstep. We are just an ordinary family."

She said the incident has changed her son, who has told her that when he gets out of prison, he wants to concentrate on work rather than his friends.

"I really feel for all the lads involved - Peter, Mattie and Russ - because it really wasn't meant to happen," she added.

Mr Clarke does not remember what happened between him starting to walk home that night and coming round six weeks later. His mum Irene and sister Amanda took turns to look after him as they waited to see whether he would come out of the coma.

Irene said: "I don't think I will ever, ever get over any of this. Every morning I got up, got in a car and went to see him. His muscles wasted away and he just looked like he had no meat on him at all."

Irene and Amanda spent so much time looking after Mr Clarke that 56-year-old Irene got into financial difficulties. She has also been told she will need to move away from Basingstoke and her home of 12 years because it is feared her son could still be in danger.

"It was just a nightmare - I wouldn't wish it on anybody," she said. "The guys that did this obviously didn't think about what an effect it would have, and not just on Peter but on everybody connected with him. I feel no malice to their parents. Their sons are in prison and they are suffering too."

Reacting to the sentence, she said: "I am shocked. The person that did the main injury to Peter's head deserved more. They will be out of prison in a few years, but Peter will be affected for life."

Amanda, 22, said the first thing Mr Clarke did as he was coming out of the coma was to give them a thumbs-up signal. Two weeks later, he was waving goodbye at people when they left the room, and he gradually improved from there.

Mr Clarke has pushed himself as hard as possible in his determination to better his condition, and is positive and full of enthusiasm.

He is now independent enough to take the train to Swindon to see his girlfriend, Sam, who he met in the head injury unit.