Dog owner left with bleed on the brain after being violently attacked by gang

The victim had gone to fetch his small dog who had run away from his car when he was approached by three brothers - Stefan, Rudolph and Ludovik Kroscen - who began to assault him.

The man punched Rudolph back in self defence and two boys aged 15 and 16 - who cannot be named for legal reasons - ran out of a nearby house and began joining in with the assault.

The victim was left with a bleed on the brain. The brothers and the two teenagers have now been sentenced to a total of more than 11 years behind bars.

They punched and kicked the man, and also beat him with a broken stick.

PC Danielle Hardman, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "This was an unprovoked and sustained attack on a victim who was simply carrying out day-to-day activities.

"On May 23 this year, the victim was unloading his car at around 10.30am when his small dog had run off and approached Rudolph Kroscen. When the victim went over to get his dog back, Rudolph - for no apparent reason at all - punched him in the face."

The victim was knocked to the floor and the gang continued to punch and kick the victim, even using a broken stick to repeatedly assault him. The onslaught, on Avondale Road in Rotherham, only came to an end when a member of the public stepped in to intervene.

PC Hardman added: "This was a brutal assault. This ordeal will stay with the victim for the rest of his life, leaving him scarred both physically and mentally."

The five offenders each pleaded guilty one count of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. At Sheffield Crown Court, Stefan Kroscen was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on October 28. The other four offenders had been sentenced at earlier hearings.

Rudolph Kroscen, 23, of Avondale Road was jailed for three years and Ludovik Kroscen, 18, also of Avondale Road, was jailed for two years and six months.

The two boys were each given sentences of 12 months.