THREE men have been jailed after conspiring to carry out a 'terrifying attack' on a man using a noxious substance at his Bournemouth home.

Builder Nathan Pike was sprayed in the face with the unidentified liquid as he got ready to leave for work on July 10 this year.

Since the attack Mr Pike has lost all sense of taste and smell, and has been counselled for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

James Brinksworth, aged 32, of Exeter Drive, Birmingham; Devon Morris, aged 30, of Sandringham Road, Birmingham; and Leigh Slaymaker, aged 46, of Youngs Road, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to a joint enterprise to cause grievous bodily harm.

At Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday, Brinksworth was sentenced to two years and five months in prison, Slaymaker was handed a three-year jail term and Morris was jailed for a total of three years and eight months for the attack and other driving offences.

Following the investigation, led by detectives from Bournemouth CID, it was established that Slaymaker, the next door neighbour of Mr Pike, organised the attack following an ongoing dispute with the victim.

Morris committed the attack and Brinksworth acted as the getaway driver.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV.

On the morning of July 10 Mr Pike was getting ready to leave for work with a colleague in Youngs Road when they were approached by Morris who was wearing a boiler suit.

Earlier that day Morris and Brinksworth had driven down from Birmingham specifically to launch the planned attack.

After engaging Mr Pike in brief conversation, Morris squirted liquid in his face before running off to the getaway car - a black Ford Focus with false plates - which was driven by Brinksworth. However, a witness to the attack was able to provide police with details of the car - and a high speed police chase quickly ensued.

By this point, Morris - who had changed out of the boiler suit and ditched the container carrying the substance - was behind the wheel.

They were eventually arrested by armed police, after officers rammed their car off the road at Trickett's Cross.

A note found in the car, with details of Mr Pike's movements, was later confirmed to have been written by Slaymaker.

Aside from the driving offences, the maximum sentence for the charges the trio faced was five years.

Sentencing, Judge Forster told the trio: "You laid in wait, no doubt following instructions given in a document provided by Mr Slaymaker.

"This was in any view a terrifying attack with an unidentified liquid.

"At the present time there is a lot of concern about acid attacks.

"This is not an acid attack but this type of offence has to be deterred."