A dispute between two men ended with one of them being attacked with a pickaxe handle.

Tommy Wallace invited James McPhail to a barbecue at the Flying Fox pub in Harwich Road, Colchester, he claimed to effect a reconciliation.

But he hid a bag of pickaxe handles behind the pub and attacked Mr McPhail with one of them.

At Chelmsford Crown Court Wallace, 30, admitted charges of unlawful wounding and criminal damage and was jailed for 18 months.

David Holborn, prosecuting, said the men had known each other for 20 years and had been friends.

In March, a window was broken at Mr McPhail's Colchester home. He saw Wallace outside standing by a car.

Three weeks later Wallace organised the barbecue and invited Mr McPhail.

At the barbecue Wallace approached Mr McPhail with a pickaxe handle and hit him on the body a number of times. He also punched and kicked him.

When arrested Wallace, of Greenstead Road, Colchester, claimed the McPhails had intimidated his family and he decided to sort it out.

He admitted smashing Mr McPhail's window.

Hugh Vass, mitigating, said the purpose of inviting Mr McPhail to the barbecue was a reconciliation.

"The reason he had the pickaxe handle was because he was preparing for the contingency that their meeting might end in violence," Mr Vass added.

And he added: "There is a catalogue of animosity between them."

He also claimed there had been a persistent campaign of harasssment by Mr McPhail directed at Mr Wallace and his family.

"There had been serious provocation. His action was a pre-emptive strike to persuade Mr McPhail to leave his family alone," Mr Vass said.

Judge Jonathan Haworth told Wallace there had been a build up of incidents which created tensions between both men.

"On this day, you decided to take the law into your own hands and hand out retribution to Mr McPhail yourself," the judge added.

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