Three men have been jailed for attempted murder after they attacked and drove over a man who had acted as a peacemaker in a pub brawl involving two of them.
Daniel Hermon, Nathan Baker and Lewis Aldridge set upon Julian Johnson, 53, as he was walking home from a night out in Beccles.
Hours earlier, he had intervened when Hermon and Baker got involved in a fight with another group outside the town's Wetherspoon pub, the Kings Head Hotel.
Judge Emma Peters told Ipswich Crown Court - where the trio were sentenced on Monday - it had been a "dreadful irony" that Mr Johnson had sat down with Hermon and Baker after the brawl to try to give him the benefit of his experience and tell them their aggression could land them in prison.
Judge Peters described Hermon as the "ring leader" and sentenced him to 18 years in jail, while Aldridge and Baker received 17 years, with Aldridge to serve one year concurrent to this for possession of a knife.
The three were found guilty of attempted murder after a trial last month.
It heard how, after the pub brawl, Hermon and Baker went to Southwold to collect Aldridge.
They then returned to the pub with knives, intent on revenge on the other group.
However, they had left. As the three drove off, they spotted Mr Johnson, who was heading home.
He was speaking to his partner on his mobile phone when the group pulled over in their car.
Giving evidence during the trial, Baker, 20, from Halesworth, said that he, Aldridge and Hermon, both 27 and from Southwold, jumped out of the car and beat Mr Johnson to the ground
His phone was thrown some distance away.
Baker claimed that Hermon said “finish him off”.
As the three drove away, the car was steered over Mr Johnson.
Baker was driving but he accused Hermon of grabbing the wheel and steering into Mr Johnson.
Hermon claimed he grabbed it to steer away from him.
Mr Johnson suffered fractures to his pelvis - which was "shattered" in several places - his ribs and vertebrae and could not move when he was found in the road by police at around 3am on November 18.
Giving evidence, Mr Johnson told the court that as he lay on the ground, he asked himself "is this where it all ends?"
He spent more than a month in hospital, fearing that he may lose a leg, and is still unable to walk without crutches.
Mr Johnson spoke of how degrading it felt needing help with "absolutely everything", and how he believes he will never again work as a painter and decorator, given that he can no longer stand for more than 10 minutes.
Mr Johnson spent his 53rd birthday in hospital, rather than the party he had planned with his friends and family - at which he had intended to propose to his partner, Sonia.
Now, Mr Johnson said he is too fearful to go anywhere alone, and is unable to take part in many everyday activities such as walking down to the sea with his stepchildren.
Counsel for Baker said that immaturity played a role in his poor decision-making that night, such as his failure to dial 999.
It was said that, when the trio arrived back in Southwold, they "all sat crying on the bed together".
This was echoed by counsel for Hermon. "Terrible decisions made in moments that have had a ripple effect on too many people and will do so for a very long time indeed," she said.
Judge Peters noted how the defendants had attempted to blame each other at trial, having "fought like rats in a sack".
As they set upon the "blameless" Mr Johnson, they "acted like a pack of dogs", Judge Peters said.
She told the trio they will serve two thirds of their sentence in custody.
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