A MUSLIM man was set upon and bitten in a vicious and random racially-motivated attack.

Lachen Downs originally denied inflicting racially aggravated actual bodily harm against Mohammed Rana Sheikh, but changed his plea to guilty at the Isle of Wight Crown Court, where he was sentenced on Friday.

Mr Sheikh had been simply walking down the road in the middle of Ryde, with a takeaway, on the evening of November 10, 2021.

Gary Venturi, prosecuting, said Downs barged into Mr Sheikh and starting punching him, causing him to fall to the ground.

He was shouting racial slurs and calling him a "f***ing Muslim."

"It caused him to fear he was in real trouble," Mr Venturi said.

"He got back to his feet but Downs continued to land blows and bit him on the forehead, causing considerable pain and injury.

"He felt he needed to lie about his religion to stop the assault. He said things like 'it's finished', 'let's forget about it' and 'I'm not a Muslim, I'm a Buddhist' to which Downs relented somewhat."

Downs then started to weep and the victim 'magnanimously' gave him his takeaway.

Following the incident, Downs was identified by police on CCTV footage.

The victim was left with a black eye, a bite mark and scratches.

Who is Lachen Downs?

Downs, 24, of Newclose, Thorley, has a lengthy criminal record, of 12 convictions for 26 offences, starting in the youth court.

Jim Osborne, representing Downs, laid out his background.

He said he suffers from foetal alcohol syndrome as a result of his mother's heavy drinking during her pregnancy, and he was taken into care at 11. Now, his mother has a restraining order against him.

In 2020, he was attacked by his cousin's dangerous dog.

Downs had also been in court for sending a revenge porn sex video to a woman's father, and was in breach of a suspended sentence for that offence when he attacked Mr Sheikh.

Mr Osborne said Downs displayed a number of mental health issues and self-medicated with alcohol and illicit drugs — and couldn't remember the attack on Mr Sheikh.

He was disgusted with himself, the court heard, and had written a letter of apology to his victim.

Isle of Wight man sentenced for savage attack

Mr Osborne said Downs' attack wasn't racially motivated and Mr Sheikh had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Recorder Simon Levene dismissed this.

Recorder Levene told Downs: "If the Archbishop of Canterbury had been walking down the road it might have happened to him, your barrister says. But the fact is, this was an assault which was racially motivated.

"The results of what you did will be with your victim a long time."

Downs, who had been in custody since November 25, was spared further imprisonment, so he can access help for his problems.

He was given 18 months in custody, suspended for two years.

He must complete a two-year community order to include 180 hours of unpaid work.