THE family of a shopkeeper left severely brain-damaged after being thrown from a car bonnet spoke of their dismay last night after his attacker was sentenced.

Rakhvinder "Raj" Singh Garcha's father said his son had been handed a life sentence because of his appalling injuries but his attacker could be free in only two years.

He spoke out after Alan Rees, of Darlington, was jailed for four years at Teesside Crown Court yesterday for inflicting grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The Recorder of Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, said it was the worst case of its kind that he had experienced in his 40 years of practising law.

Mr Garcha senior, owner of a convenience store in Bates Avenue, Darlington, said: "The sentence should have been longer, we were expecting at least eight years. I was very angry when I heard.

"My son has been given a life sentence because of what he did but Rees could be out in two years.

"He showed no remorse at all, he did not say sorry. I think he is a lunatic. He ruined our family."

Raj, a former pupil of Carmel Technology College, needs 24-hour care and has "reverted to being a young child".

The 30-year-old has no short-term memory and still believes he works for a Darlington insurance firm, a job he left three years ago.

The court heard he also forgets simple tasks, suffers epileptic fits and has no forehead after the bone had to be removed because of his horrendous injuries.

Mr Garcha senior said the incident had had a devastating effect on the whole family, including Raj's wife, Rubinder, and their two children, Simrun and Simrid.

He said following the attack on March 28 his son seemed virtually certain to die, but managed to pull through after an emergency operation to reduce swelling on his brain.

"He was very lucky, we were all lucky. My wife just wants our son to get better,", he said: "It will take a long time but we just have to hope."

The court heard Raj, a trainee accountant, was working in the family shop when he argued with Rees after he refused to sell cigarettes to Rees's teenage son.

The argument spilled outside the shop and Rees drove his car at the father-of-two dragging him 50 yards on the bonnet before performing an emergency stop.

Rees, 38, who worked at B&Q in Morton Park, Darlington, drove around Raj as he lay in the road.

He then attempted to cover up what had happened by hiding the car, repairing the broken windscreen wipers and attempting to destroy forensic evidence. He also shaved off his moustache to conceal his identity.

It was revealed the father-of-four, of Auckland Avenue, Darlington, had a string of convictions for violence, criminal damage and obstructing police.

He was also convicted in December 1994 of a road rage incident.

His wife, Elizabeth Rees, 39, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after she admitted taking the car involved in the accident to a car wash to get rid of marks on the bonnet.

Sentencing, Judge Fox said: "Alan Rees, the count upon which the jury found you guilty - inflicting GBH - is the worst case I have encountered in nearly 40 years of practising.

"It must be so painful for the whole of his family.

"A man of about your age, of considerable ability, helping in his family business on that day, has been rendered childlike. It's a dreadful tragedy."

Rees, who was convicted earlier this month, was jailed for three years for inflicting GBH and one-and-a- half years for dangerous driving, to run concurrently.

He also received a consecutive sentence of one year for attempting to pervert the course of justice and was disqualified from driving for 12 years.

Judge Fox said he was sparing Mrs Rees from jail for the sake of the couple's four children.

The 39-year-old was given a three-year community rehabilitation order.