A DISTRAUGHT labourer launched a “savage” attack on an uncle he believed had raped his mother.

Sam Corsby went to Larry South’s flat in Brighton with a friend and beat his uncle so severely that the man was left in intensive care for a week.

The 26-year-old took the friend to make sure he didn’t kill Mr South during the incident, a court was told.

During the attack the pair kicked and stamped on the victim, leaving him with a broken eye socket, a broken nose, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The motivation was an “unproven” allegation that Mr South had raped his sister, Corsby’s mother, who recently died of cancer.

Corsby told him: “If you had gone to the funeral, I would have killed you that day.”

He admitted causing grievous bodily harm, and was jailed for seven years by Recorder Stuart Trimmer QC, who described the incident as a “savage and premeditated attack”.

Rachel Beckett, prosecuting at Brighton Crown Court, said it was a repeated and sustained attack.

The trouble started at 9pm on August 4, when Mr South heard Corsby on the intercom at his flat.

He opened the door and was punched square in the face by Corsby, who was with an accomplice, Ms Beckett said.

Corsby said: “You raped your sister.”

Mr South replied he did not, and tried to reason with the men.

Ms Beckett said: “It is understood that Sam Corsby was upset following the recent death of his mother.

“He told his friend to break Mr South’s legs.

“As he lay on the ground they threw paint pots over him.

“They told him not to get up and stamped and kicked him.

“Then the pair took photographs of him on their mobile phones.

“Mr South shouted for help from the neighbours. When police arrived the flat was covered in blood and found him injured, with swollen eyes, blood on his torso and from his mouth.

“He had fractured his right eye socket, broken his nose and suffered multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung.”

Sarah Thorne, defending, said the attack was “entirely out of character” and said her client had gone into the police station voluntarily to admit inflicting grievous bodily harm.

She said: “It is no excuse that he was grieving for his mother.

“Whether the allegation is founded in fact or not we do not know, there was never a trial and we cannot work on the basis that there was an offence.

“It has not been proved, but that was his motive. He took the law into his own hands.

“He accepts that he has let everyone down, not only himself but every single member of his family, who all love and support him.”

The judge was told that a second man has been arrested by police.

The judge said: “This was a savage and premeditated attack that caused a great deal of harm.

“This man was deliberately targeted.

“You made a great mistake while in drink.”

Corsby, of Sandhurst Avenue in Brighton, was jailed for seven years.