A thug cracked a shopkeeper’s skull and left him brain-damaged as a row at the till ended in a bloody street fight.

Kurt Collins hit his victim with a long plastering spirit level and a baseball bat outside Thenu Convenience Store in Dover.

During a trial at Canterbury Crown Court, a jury watched CCTV of Collins bringing goods to the counter, ready to pay when a confused scuffle broke out between him and Nimalnithy Poolingham.

A tug-of-war over a plastic carrier bag sent the 35-year-old plasterer’s selection of toiletries and refreshments flying before he left the store carrying a drink he had not paid for.

The jury heard Collins had been impatient to leave the shop and was frustrated at how long Mr Poolingham was taking.

The footage captured just before 9pm on September 16 showed the shopkeeper following the defendant out of the Snargate Street store with a baseball bat.

After some aggressive posturing, Collins was seen driving away in his white rental van before Mr Poolingham appeared to hurl the bat at the vehicle, damaging the windscreen.

Prosecuting, Amy Nicholson says it was at this point that the plasterer lost any sense of reason or proportionality.

“He says he pulled over to check the damage,” said Ms Nicholson.

“Instead, what he chose to do was deliberately return to the very place he knew Mr Poolingham was likely to be, get out, clearly without checking any damage, and immediately select his weapon of choice from the back of the van.”

In CCTV footage, Collins was heard saying “Big, big problem” before using a long plastering level to shatter the glass shop door. He would later plead guilty to criminal damage.

Giving evidence in court on Thursday, Collins said: “I blasted the door three times. Then, just as I was backing off, I saw the shopkeeper with a bat and he was stepping out of the shop.”

The jury watched frame-by-frame footage of the men beginning to fight - Collins landing the initial blow by bringing the level down towards the shopkeeper’s head.

“I swung the level to try to knock the baseball bat out of his hand - I believe it hit his hand,” said the defendant.

At one point a loud clang was heard as Collins’ tool clattered to the ground - and as Mr Poolingham swung his baseball bat, Collins managed to grab onto it and the two men wrestled for the weapon.

“He took me to the ground but then I managed to get the bat and I swung it at him,” continued Collins. “I was just trying to protect myself. I didn’t want him to take me down again. It was my natural reaction in the moment.”

Dale Beeson, defending, described the fight as an outrageous but unsought incident.

“I was just trying to protect myself...”

“This is not an attack - a fight had broken out between the two men. It’s an outrageous incident that’s taken place, but it was unforeseen.

"Mr Collins is quite clear that he did act in self-defence throughout.”

But during cross-examination of the defendant, Ms Nicholson challenged this view.

“You’re the aggressor, you’re the one who took the violence back to the shop,” said the prosecutor.

“You’re the one who has completely flown into a rage, you’re beyond all reason, and when he comes out of the shop your intention is to hurt him and that exactly what you do.”

Mr Poolingham was between prone and seated on the pavement when Collins struck his head with the bat, rendering him unconscious and departed with the words: “Who’s f***ed now?”

Doctors would later find Mr Poolingham had suffered two fractures to his skull and one to his face in the attack, as well as brain haemorrhages.

The defendant, who had been doing a plastering job nearby before going to the store, told the jury that he then placed both weapons into his van, and drove to a nearby retail park.

He then called his solicitor to let him know what had happened, where he was and asked him to call the police, before throwing the baseball bat into a river.

“It felt like the bat was following me everywhere. I was annoyed with the bat, so I threw it in the river,” Collins said.

“I wasn’t concerned about trying to conceal anything. I had been tormented by the bat so I wanted to just get rid of it.”

Police soon arrived at the retail park to arrest Collins and, on the advice of his solicitor, he gave a no comment interview before later providing a pre-written statement.

He accepted a charge of criminal damage, but pleaded not guilty to robbery and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

After deliberating for just under three hours, on Friday the jury unanimously found that Collins, of Townsend Close, Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, was not guilty of robbery or inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent. But he was found guilty of the lesser charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent.

Immediately following his conviction, Judge Simon James handed down a custodial sentence of four years.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Martin Aird, Kent Police's investigating officer, said: “This was an extremely violent attack prompted by a petty argument with a man who was just doing his job.

“Collins left the victim lying on the pavement and the consequences of the assault could have been even more serious had it not been for the work of doctors and medics.

“I am pleased Collins was quickly arrested and has now been jailed for the assault and I hope the fact that the case has been dealt with gives the victim some reassurance as he continues his recovery.”