Men jailed for 14 years for pandemic attack that left NHS worker scarred for life

• Two men were found guilty of an attack on an NHS worker who suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a car, as ITV West Country's Robert Murphy reports

Two men who mowed down an NHS worker in the early stages of the pandemic have been jailed for a combined total of more than 14 years.

Katungua Tjitendero was scarred for life when he was hit by a blue Honda Accord as he walked home from a shift at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

He'd been listening to Stormzy and was excited to go to football training later that day.

Instead, he was left with a broken leg, broken nose and broken cheekbone and his face so badly injured he has a lifelong scar.

As the culprits fled the scene, one of them shouted racist abuse at Mr Tjitendero.

Police launched a large scale operation to find the culprits and now, more than four years later, two men have been jailed.

Patrick James, 22, and Phillip Adams, 26, were both found guilty of conspiracy to cause intentional grievous bodily harm following a trial at Bristol Crown Court.

At a hearing on Monday 30 September, James was jailed for eight and a half years while Adams was sentenced to six years in prison.

Adams failed to turn up to court and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Police say they are working with the National Crime Agency to arrange his extradition from Dubai.

The police investigation also uncovered footage on James' phone of the Honda being used to deliberately drive onto the pavement and hit a cyclist - Julian Ford - off his bike.

James filmed this attack and he can be heard in video laughing before they hit him and afterwards as they drove off.

Mr Ford suffered fractured ribs and had air and blood in his chest cavity, leading to a lengthy stay in hospital.

This incident - in Broadlands Drive, Lawrence Weston - happened 10 days before Mr Tjitendero was hurt.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Macmillan said: "This was a terrible thing to do to another person, let alone to celebrate it," adding that Adams "did not have the courage to come to court" for his sentence.

The attack on Mr Tjitendero in Monks Park Avenue left him pinned against a wall, which itself had partly fallen down due to the impact.

He was taken to Southmead Hospital - where both he and his mother work - for emergency treatment.

Speaking outside of court following the sentencing, Mr Tjitendero's mother Hivaka said her won was "just walking home as he always did".

"The next moment, a car deliberately veered to towards him, attacking him as a weapon, leaving him no time to react, leaving him seriously injured both physically and mentally.

"My son has endured a long path on his recovery."

She added: "As a mother, who should always seek to protect and look after her children, I felt so helpless.

"I am so proud how my son has dealt with the unknown and rebuilt himself to the man that he is now."

She added: "We are very mindful that this cowardly attack, during which the worst racist abuse was shouted at Katungua, has impacted on all of us - family, friends, community, city, nation and beyond."

She also thanked people who supported her son, saying: "From the moment his broken body was helped off the wall by a lovely lady, whose love for a fellow human being, and need to help, was stronger than the horror she encountered.

"That chain of love grows stronger by the second."

She also thanked ambulance crews, NHS staff, plastic surgeons, police, witnesses, the city's former mayor Marvin Rees and even strangers online for their support.

Her statement added: "We love our lives, we love each other and we love living in Bristol. We love Bristol’s diversity, its art, its music, its sense of humour and decency, and its people.

"And we will continue to enjoy our lives in Bristol."

Detective Superintendent Mike Buck, who led the investigation into the attack on Katungua, said: "A callous disregard was shown for the victims' wellbeing who suffered really significant injuries.

"They were deliberately driven at in horrendous attacks and it's absolutely right that both men have today been handed lengthy prison sentences for their actions.

"The support of both Mr Ford and Mr Tjitendero and his family over the past four years has been invaluable and I'd again like to thank them for their patience while the investigation progressed."