A man jailed for four years for leaving a man in a permanent coma may face a murder charge if his victim dies.

Thomas Hurley, 22, punched Andrew Williams to the ground at a party in Dorchester where he hit his head on a large log and was left in a permanent vegetative state.

Yesterday he was told by a judge he had effectively killed Mr Williams, who is expected never to recover.

Hurley, formerly of Dorchester but now of Portland, Dorset, hit Mr Williams in February 2007 because he thought he had been violent towards his wife Susan Williams.

Oxford Crown Court heard that Hurley stood over his victim, saying he "****ing deserved it" while family and friends tried to revive him.

Last night Det Sgt Darren Cartwright said the Crown Prosecution Service could consider prosecuting Hurley for manslaughter or murder if Mr Williams died from his injuries.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Williams described her husband as the love of her life.

She said: "This was no accident but a deliberate act that has robbed a loving and caring man of his life.

"Andrew doesn't lay peacefully in his sleep. It is a daily battle for him to fight against the things that ravish his body.

"He has seizures from his head injury and has to have a tube down his throat.

"As for me, well at 31 I feel my whole life has been wiped out.

"Part of my heart has been taken from me and will never be replaced.

"I sometimes turn to cuddle him in the morning only to find he is not there.

"At times I feel so low I do not want to live myself.

"There are constant reminders of Andrew all around me - his shoes by the back door, his toothbrush in the bathroom and his lunch box and flask on top of the fridge.

"My heart breaks every minute of the day when I think I have lost the person I vowed to love, honour and obey.

"We are not able to grieve properly because the man we loved is still there physically in front of us.

"We sometimes wonder whether the condition Andrew is left in is worse than death itself."

Hurley was convicted of grievous bodily harm following a trial earlier this month.

He was cleared of wounding with intent.

Sentencing Hurley to four years in jail, Mr Recorder Antonio Bueno said: "The festivities of that evening ended in the early hours of the following morning in tragedy.

"The life of Andrew Williams was effectively brought to an end.

"The consequences of your attack on Andrew Williams is something that you will have to live with for the rest of your life.

"There were catastrophic injuries to Andrew Williams which have reduced him to a vegetative state from which he will never recover, and from which it is likely sooner rather than later he will more than likely die.

"His coma equates in severity to one of a dead man."