Three cowardly individuals who yesterday were jailed for more than 30 years between them.

Damien Shepherd's life was already difficult enough. But despite suffering from cerebral palsy he had made a real go of it.

On the night he came face to face with the three thugs who attacked him with such ferocity he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket and brain damage, he had wiled away his time in a local pub.

It was on his way home that he was ambushed by Andrew Law, Jonathan Jackson and Andrew Gorton and left for dead. They knew Damien, knew his vulnerability, yet still chose to attack him.

This was not the first time they had struck either. A week earlier a similar motiveless attack had been launched on a cyclist, who later said he feared he would die.

It is 12 months since Damien was assaulted yet he continues to need a huge amount of care. According to his sister he has lost the life he knew, though thankfully, he remembers nothing of the ordeal.

In sentencing the men, the judge explained that legislation prevented him from passing life sentences. More is the pity.

However, while the jail sentences imposed are substantial, justified and as harsh as they could be, one thought continues to nag away – these hoodlums will be back out on the street in a matter of a few years.

We can only pray the same can be said for Damien.