A CRICKLEWOOD man who launched a brutal attack on a 44-year-old has been jailed for eight years.

A witness was heard screaming as Toqeer Azam, 30, of Cricklewood Lane, stamped on his victim’s head and beat it with a piece of wood in an alleyway by the Tricycle Theatre, in Kilburn, at 2.45am, on February 18.

As he left the scene he snatched a mobile phone from a witness who was calling the police.

He was jailed for eight years at Harrow Crown Court for grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and robbery.

Detective Sergeant Gail Smith, from the Brent Police Violent Crime Unit, said: “Toqeer Azam's sentence reflects the ferocity of the assault itself and the lasting psychological and physical effects on his victim, who is still receiving treatment for his injuries.

“Many members of the public came forward to give statements about what they had seen and heard and I would like to thank those people because they contributed to the early guilty plea at court.”

Azam left the alleyway at around the same time as paramedics arrived and fled down Kilburn High Road.

But police arrived at the scene before he could get away and arrested him.

He pleaded guilty on April 20.