Adam Pickles attack: Man jailed over Thailand assault

Adam Pickles was working as an English teacher in Thailand when he was attacked in 2012

A man has been jailed for six years in Thailand over an assault that left a teacher from West Yorkshire needing round-the-clock medical care.

Adam Pickles, 43, spent more than a year in a coma after being attacked by Sean Tinsley in Pattaya in 2012.

Mr Pickles' family said Tinsley, originally from Wolverhampton, had been jailed after an initial not guilty ruling was overturned on appeal.

His mother, Adele, said the verdict meant "justice had been served".

Adele Pickles, from Thorner, near Leeds, said: "We've never felt vengeance or hatred; we've never felt these kind of feelings.

"We wanted to be able to tell Adam that we did everything we possibly could to get that verdict for him and for the sake of his son, Benjamin, so we can say, yes, this happened, but we got justice for him."

'Overwhelmingly important'

Mr Pickles was the head of English at the Regents International School in the coastal town of Pattaya, about 95 miles (150km) south of Bangkok.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury after being attacked with an iron bar in what was believed to be a road rage incident and was flown back to the UK following a campaign to fund his repatriation.

Mrs Pickles said he was no longer in a coma but he was only able to move his fingers and toes and, sometimes, open his eyes.

She said: "We told him the result yesterday and we got a little smile."

Tinsley was cleared of a charge of attempted murder but, following, an appeal he was convicted of assault and jailed.

He was also fined 6.2 million Thai baht (£114,000).

The BBC understands he has up to 60 days to appeal against the verdict and has lodged an application for bail.

Barrister Iain Morley QC, who was assisting the Pickles family, said: "We have no doubt that the family feel great relief from this overwhelming important move."