A trained boxer who took part in a brutal attack outside a pub which left a man with a double fracture of the jaw has failed in an appeal against the length of his jail term.

Benjamin Killick, 24, of Aldeburgh Place, Trowbridge, along with David Scott, 21, of Alderton Way, Trowbridge, attacked Jake Futcher outside the former Just So bar in Castle Street, Trowbridge, in March last year.

Mr Futcher had his head and body stamped on after he had been knocked to the floor.

Both Scott and Killick were found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm following a trial, and were each sentenced to three years at Swindon Crown Court last October.

Today, Lord Justice Hooper, Mr Justice David Clarke and Judge Jeremy Roberts QC, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court, heard Killick's appeal against that sentence.

Killick's lawyers argued he did not deserve the same sentence as his co-accused, as he had not started the fight and had only joined in when the combatants fell on him as he sat on a sofa in the bar drinking beer.

It was also submitted that the three-year sentence was out of line with sentencing guidelines.

However Judge Roberts refused to cut Killick's term saying: "The use of a foot against a person lying on the ground is tantamount to the use of a weapon.

"There were aggravating factors, in that he had previous convictions for violence.

"The appellant was understandably aggrieved by the combatants falling on him, but there was no reasonable excuse for joining the attack on the victim as he was lying helpless.

"We do not think that the sentence of three years was too long."