A man beat his next-door neighbour with a baseball bat after he put glue in his lock and hurled racist abuse at his family, a court heard.

Robert Williams, 41, of Shelly Close, Bicester, admitted he attacked Philip Pratt with his children's baseball bat, breaking his elbow, injuring his face and beating his legs as he lay on the ground on October 31 last year.

Oxford Crown Court was told a dispute between the neighbours started two years ago when Williams' 16-year-old daughter started dating a black man.

The court was told that Mr Pratt then became abusive, making obscene and racist comments to the girl and other family members and ran the boyfriend off his motorcycle.

Jennifer Edwards, defending, said Williams had been driven to the end of his tether and saw red.

She said: "On the surface of it, Williams and Mr Pratt should have been able to live happily alongside each other.

"They live in a pleasant housing estate in a nice, quiet close. This incident was a moment of real madness for Williams. He was struggling with intimidation by his neighbour against the very people he was put on this earth to protect, his family.

"In August last year, Mr Pratt telephoned the police.

"He himself was being abusive. Mr Pratt was awkward, intoxicated and making racist comments about Williams and insulting his 16-year-old daughter, because she was going out with a black boy."

She said both Williams and Mr Pratt had contacted the police several times. Four days before the attack, Williams had called police and said he would kill Mr Pratt.

Williams was filmed by a police camera fitted in Mr Pratt's house threatening him after a previous court hearing, but a charge of intimidating a witness was dropped.

Sentencing Williams to three years in prison, the Recorder, Harold Persaud, said: "I accept there has been a very high level of provocation, however, you are not to take the law into your own hands. The court needs to send out that message."

After the hearing, Mr Pratt, 54, said he felt cheated, because he had not had a chance to put his side of events to the judge.

He said: "I have lived in fear since this happened. I was hit about 30 times. I was kicked in the ribs and punched in the eye.

"I'm crippled for life and they don't award any compensation for it -- I feel cheated."

He said his elbow, which was broken in six places, had still not healed and he was taking medication for depression and pain relief.

Mr Pratt, who is retired, said the situation had been simmering for about three years, and although he was not clear on the cause, his neighbours playing loud music was a factor.

Williams' wife Donna said she was relieved the court case was over, but did not believe her husband should have been jailed.