A man has been jailed for seven years for his part in a sword and knife attack which left a man permanently brain-damaged.

Mahdi Mohammed Mahdi, 20, of Burnt Oak Broadway, was one of five men who were jailed on Monday at Wood Green Crown Court for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Eight other men had already admitted taking part in the attack on two brothers in Haringey and in total, the 13-strong gang was jailed for 61.5 years.

In December 2005, the men, in their late teens and early 20s, were caught on CCTV as they chased the two victims down a road armed with kitchen knives, baseball bats, hammers and machetes and swords.

In the McDonald’s car park in Williamson Road, Harringey, one of the brothers, aged 20, was knocked to the ground, severely beaten and left with a deep cut on the back of his head. He managed to escape and flagged down an ambulance.

His brother, aged 21, was found by police lying on the ground semi-conscious, and suffering from severe cuts to his head.

He had been severely beaten and suffered a fractured skull, which led to swelling on his brain.

Since the attack —between two groups of Somali men — he has had several operations to remove blood clots from his brain and has been left disabled with permanent brain damage, struggling with lack of concentra-tion, loss of memory and changes in his personality.

Detective Constable Colin Perry, who led the investigation into the attack, condemned the actions of Mahdi and his fellow gang members.

He said: “This terrible night of violence has left a young man seriously debilitated. This is the real picture of the results of marauding around with knives. We can only hope the conclusion of this case will offer some closure for the victim and his family.

“If you use violence, your actions have consequences that destroy the lives of not only victims, but of their families, of your families and ultimately your own.”