A BUSINESSMAN was punched to the ground and kicked by robbers who rifled his pockets and left him with a suspected fractured skull.

The restaurant owner suffered severe facial swelling and bruising after being attacked in a car park as he went to collect his house keys.

Matthew Taylor and Steven Fenny stole the man's watch, phone, money and cash cards in the early hours of May 20.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the victim also remembers hearing a female voice yell: "Get his f***ing phone."

Prosecutor Emma Atkinson said the 39-year-old man was left unconscious and the next thing he could recall was waking up in hospital.

Doctors initially thought he had suffered a fractured skull, but a review three days later revealed it was an old injury.

Taylor, 22, of Ware Street, Stockton, was jailed for four years, and Fenny, 19, of Kensington Road, Stockton, got three years and ten months, after they admitted robbery.

Judge Peter Armstrong told them: "Both of you have significant records for dishonesty and offences of violence.

"The timing and location of this offence are aggravating factors – in the middle of the night, someone making their way back to their business – and the fact this was violence which was mob-handed."

He added: "You made a real mess of his face. It was thought he might have had fractures which might have required surgery, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case, but the effect on him is a serious one.

"This was a sustained attack and wasn't just a case of one punch knocking him to the floor and taking his property. It was a robbery with a considerable amount of force, and clearly kicking."

Philip Standfast, for Taylor, said he had a difficult upbringing as one of 12 children, and added: "It was almost like having a football team in the house at times, and he didn't get the parental support and guidance that, perhaps, parents in a smaller family might have been able to give."

Fenny's lawyer, Nicci Horton, added: "He is still young and has a lot of learning to do. He is well aware of the impact he has had on the complainant, of what he has done, and well aware that significant changes in his life need to occur."

In a statement, the victim said: "I can't believe I have been set upon. I feel it was calculated, I didn't have a chance to defend myself.

"It took weeks for the facial wounds to heal. I couldn't go to work to face customers. I don't feel I can lock up on my own again."