A ‘grinning’ thug who hit a dad over the head ten times with an axe during the school-run has been caged for 11-years.
The lengthy sentence came after the verdict of a panel of top judges, as Hassan Ali lost an appeal against his prison term.
The 24-year-old, of College Road, Moseley, was part of a gang which savagely attacked motorcyclist Faheem Hussain as he rode to collect his daughter from school.
The victim’s visor was smashed but he escaped with his life because of his helmet.
The savage attack took place outside a ‘Spend and Save’ supermarket in Swanshurst Lane, Moseley, on 23rd March last year.
The victim was targeted for his bike and took refuge in the shop before returning to his machine.
But he was attacked for a second time and suffered a fractured finger when Ali hit him on the hand, while another gang member swiped at his legs with a meat cleaver.
Mr Hussain fled back into the shop and the gang damaged his bike and smashed the supermarket’s windows.
Philip Brunt, prosecuting, told Birmingham Crown Court: “This defendant had the axe in his hand and was grinning as he lifted the axe above his head.”
A month later, Ali attacked a man outside a school, where parents were waiting to collect their children, by striking him with a large vodka bottle.
He struck again on 7th May last year, when he was involved in a fight where he punched another man and hit him with a stick.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and also admitted causing grievous bodily harm and affray in relation to two separate incidents.
He was handed an extended sentence for public protection – made up of an 11-year jail term and four years extra on licence – at Birmingham Crown Court in March.
Ali challenged his sentence at the Court of Appeal, in London, with his lawyers arguing it was ‘excessive’.
However, three of the country’s most senior judges rejected his appeal bid and said there was ‘nothing wrong’ with his punishment.
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the sentence was justified in light of his ‘sickening violence’.
“Victims and those who witnessed the incidents had suffered lasting psychological harm,” he added.
Sitting with Lord Justice Beatson and Judge Geoffrey Marson QC, he added: “His serious record and the harm he inflicted on innocent members of the public resulted in this sentence.
“We can find nothing wrong with any of the elements of this sentence.”
