A shopkeeper who slashed a teenager with a samurai sword has been jailed for 12 months.

Rakakaran Thurairajah and his workmate Angelo Lazarus chased 18-year-old Leon Whybourne thinking he had set fire to newspapers outside their shop.

Thurairajah, 28, and Lazarus, 22, cornered Mr Whybourne and attacked him.

The victim's left hand was left hanging off after it was sliced by the weapon's 18in blade.

Sentencing Thurairajah at Hove Crown Court yesterday Judge Austin Issard-Davies said the pair had been right to defend their shop but the injury inflicted on the victim was so serious they had to be jailed.

Lazarus was imprisoned for 21 months at an earlier hearing.

Judge Issard-Davies told Thurairajah: "Leon Whybourne was at your mercy. He was not trying to defend himself or fight you. The injury you did him was so severe that his left hand will be partially useless for the rest of his life.

"He was one of a group of youths hanging around at 3am making mischief outside your shop.

"They set fire to newspapers probably hoping to spread the fire into the shop.

"It seems to me you were right to try to defend your shop from that damage.

"I accept you might well have felt under pressure as a result of an accumulation of incidents affecting your shop.

"Whatever his involvement may or may not have been, the damage you did to Leon Whybourne was so severe that only a sentence of imprisonment can possibly be passed."

Earlier, the court heard Lazarus and Thurairajah, both originally from Sri Lanka, had suffered months of trouble and vandalism at the Londis store in Ninfield Road, Bexhill.

Their patience finally ran out on October 11 last year when they saw the youths set fire to newspapers and magazines outside and they ran from their flat opposite to chase them off.

They cornered Mr Whybourne, who it was accepted had not set fire to the papers.

Lazarus was convicted at his trial in March of wounding Mr Whybourne.

However, he was cleared of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after the jury was unable to decide exactly who had inflicted the injuries.

The court heard Thurairajah pleaded guilty on the basis he had used the sword's scabbard to beat Mr Whybourne and did not know or intend that the sword would be used.

Michael Shay, prosecuting, said: "They were jointly involved in the attack but it was not proved which of them had the samurai sword."

The two men had intended to assault whoever they caught when they chased the youths outside the shop.

Richard Barton, defending Thurairajah, said the incident was the culmination of months of problems with youths at the shop.

Mr Barton said: "He felt he was getting scant assistance with these problems. This was a man who had reached the end of his tether.

"There is no suggestion that he is someone who resorts to violence normally in his life.

"He has shown contrition and accepts responsibility for what happened."