A SERIAL violent offender who beat his victim with a pick-axe handle and left him ‘for dead’ for his share of �50 could be released from prison in two years.

Lyndon Meek attacked James Shortt with the weapon, before threatening to shoot him in the head and bundling his bloodied victim into a taxi so he could help steal the cash.

Meek, aged 26, and his co-defendant Kevin Dean were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court this week for robbery and grievous bodily harm.

The court heard how Mr Shortt had been drinking with Meek and Dean at his Weston flat on September 7, but the defendants left that evening after asking for money for alcohol.

Mr Shortt ended up lending Dean �5 for a taxi and then went to bed, only to be awoken by his attackers at about 2.15am.

Things turned ugly when they accused him of stealing a bank card and Meek - who has previously been convicted of 21 other offences, some violent - hit his victim across the body multiple times with a pick-axe handle.

Dean headbutted Mr Shortt, before punching him in the face and head a number of times.

Meek then knocked him out and the attackers bundled their victim into a taxi once he regained consciousness.

The driver took them to two cash points and the pair withdrew �50.

When the pair left the vehicle momentarily, Mr Shortt asked the driver to call the police and take him to the hospital.

Officers later arrested Meek and Dean, who ran off after withdrawing the money and becoming suspicious the police had been called.

Meek, of Downside Road in Weston, received a four-year prison sentence on Monday after admitting the two crimes.

His Honour Judge Roach said he might only serve half of his sentence.

Dean, aged 26, of Gloucester Road, Horfield, was handed a 40-month prison sentence on Monday for his part in the attack after also pleading guilty to both offences.

Mr Shortt told the Mercury this week that he has been left mentally and physically scarred by his ordeal, saying he suffered 25 separate injuries in the attack, including a broken kneecap.

He said: “They left me for dead, all for �50. I’m disgusted that they received such short sentences, it makes me feel terrible.

“I’m scared to go out of the house and I still have to use crutches because of my injuries.”

Officer in the case DC Phil Morris said following the sentencing: “I am pleased with the guilty pleas, but this was a nasty offence committed against a lone and vulnerable male in his own home.

“It was made worse by the fact he considered Meek to be a friend.”

The court heard how Dean had never appeared before a crown court before and Meek had been in care for much of his life.

Susan Tucker, who provided day care for Meek when he was in foster care, told the court on Monday: “I believe in him.

“He has never had a stable life or role model and I have never felt threatened by him.

“There is a heart inside this young man.”