A LONG-running feud between families living in Malvern ended with a 56-year-old man nursing a broken jaw.

Twenty-eight-year-old Matthew Hadley admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Lawrence Skinner - who was not in good health.

A judge at Hereford Crown Court condemned the attack, and sentenced Hadley to a 240-hour community punishment order.

The court heard that following the attack on Mr Skinner, Hadley's girlfriend, 32-year-old Carol Fletcher, joined in.

She lashed out at Mr Skinner's 17-year-old daughter Laura.

Fletcher was fined £150 after she admitted common assault on the teenager.

Judge Michael Mott said the incident on Friday, October 12, last year, was the terrible culmination of a family dispute.

Bad feeling had been brewing for some time, the court heard.

Martin Butterworth, prosecuting, said Mr Skinner's jaw had been shattered by a single punch, thrown by Hadley.

When Mr Skinner's family rushed to help him, Fletcher stepped in. She slapped his daughter and pulled her hair.

Hadley and Fletcher had been living in Clayfield Drive, Malvern, but had since moved four miles away to Colwall to avoid further trouble, said Evelyn Bugeja, defending.

Fit of anger

She said Hadley, who had no previous convictions, had struck out at Mr Skinner in a fit of anger and frustration.

Adam Western, Fletcher's solicitor, said the dispute had been about her eight-year-old son.

She assured the court that, since the incident, the families had been living in peace.