Moped delivery drivers rammed Southsea cyclist off his bike, pinned him down and bludgeoned him with motorbike helmet

Cousins Matheus and Vinicius Dos Anjos flew into a road rage as Andrew Storey went south on traffic-locked Fawcett Road faster than them.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard the victim, a painter and decorator, heard a loud crack as the helmet hit him just after the roundabout onto Lawrence Road by the Fawcett Inn in Southsea – breaking his jaw and right forearm.

Dad-of-one Matheus, 23, and Vinicius, 24, were both jailed for two years minus 73 days for their guilty pleas at their trial.

Opening the case, prosecutor Thomas Wilkins said:’Just before the attack the traffic was not as freely moving. It seemed because [Mr Storey] was was on a push bike he was making quicker progress than them. That may have irritated them and became the spark of road rage.’

He added: ‘Going over the roundabout one motorcyclist hit the rear wheel forcefully, forcing him to come off landing on his back.

‘He tried to get up, the other motorbike came up, and hit him in the ribs.

‘Both defendants get off the bikes putting them on their stands. Matheus initiated the violence, hitting him on the cheek where after Vinicius grabbed him in a sleeper hold taking him to the floor, wrapping his legs round Mr Storey.

‘It was then that Matheus used his helmet, moving to hit him in the face.’

At that point Mr Storey, who was off work for weeks, lifted his arm to protect himself, Mr Wilkins added. He said: ‘The helmet landed on his arm. He heard a crack and a very sharp pain.

‘The attack with the helmet continued. Bystanders gathered. Before they made off the defendants threatened the bystanders.

‘No doubt believing they were going to be traced by their number plates the next evening they handed themselves in.’

Self-employed Mr Storey, who developed pneumonia after the attack, was unable to work and was left with a weaker arm after it healed.

In a statement he said: ‘Since the incident my life has changed dramatically, I have lost my home, my partner and still have not financially recovered from it.

‘I still don’t have much work as I did and don’t have the same strength in my right arm.’

Judge Michael Bowes QC said there was ‘initial agitation’ between the trio just after 7pm on September 21, 2017. The cousins claimed Mr Storey had swung out at them.

But addressing the pair, Recorder Bowes added: ‘You both lost your tempers and genuinely attacked him beating him with a motorcycle helmet and causing him serious injury.

‘He was hit a number of times with the helmet by you Matheus  whilst your cousin Vinicius held him down.

‘The injuries are substantial in that he had a fractured jaw and a broken arm which required surgery.

‘Whatever may have happened at the outset this repeated incident became a wholly unjustified attack.’

Matheus, of Wilson Grove, Southsea, and Vinicius, of Sultan Road, Buckland, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the second day of their trial after a judge issued a court summons for Mr Storey to come to court and give evidence.

Christopher Wing, for the cousins, said: ‘If Mr Storey hadn’t behaved in a provocative manner then they wouldn’t have behaved in the way they did.

‘But they know that once they lost their tempers, they must accept responsibility for what happens thereafter.’

Family members wept in court as the pair, who looked close to tears as they were sentenced, were taken down to the cells.

Investigating officer Det Con David Freeman said: ‘We simply do not tolerate this type of violence in the city, and the sentence handed to these two men reflects the severity of this case.

‘This was a shocking example of mindless road rage perpetrated by two men who will now suffer the consequences of their actions.

‘I am pleased that justice has now been served.’