A ?horrific? machete attack that severely injured two brothers has landed a Pembroke man behind bars for three years.

One brother was left coughing up blood and fearing for his life after getting slashed in the head. The other was forced to give up his job as a bus driver after his hand was sliced in the ordeal.

Their attacker, Kenneth Caines, was convicted after a trial heard how Marlon Rewan was knocked unconscious by the defendant and another teenager, before being robbed of $3,000 in cash and jewellery outside a Hamilton bar.

But it was the bloody events the day after that attack ? outside the Captain?s Lounge on Reid Street ? that sent Caines to Westgate for the first time yesterday.

In what the defence called ?street justice?, Marlon and his two brothers, Stevon and Devon, went to the Devonshire house of the teenager they held partly responsible for the robbery at the night-spot, in a bid to retrieve the stolen haul.

They got back most of the jewellery from the teenager?s parents. However, as the brothers were about to leave the house Caines arrived in an orange Subaru car ? carrying a machete.

As several armed men gathered and tempers flared Caines lashed out, the August trial heard, before Stevon and Devon were sliced with the blade.

Devon was struck on the hand as he tried to protect himself with a four-foot wooden pole, while Stevon was cut across the head, in a blow he said ?went straight to my skull?. He told the jury blood came out like water, ?like the Niagara Falls?.

Caines claimed he was acting in self-defence and yesterday said he never intended to hurt anybody. But a jury convicted him of unlawfully wounding Marlon and of two counts of wounding with intent to cause GBH, against Stevon and Devon.

The 20 year old was handed a three-year prison sentenced yesterday by Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons.

She told the defendant that machete violence involving young men was on the rise in Bermuda. There had to be a deterrent, she told the court, and the public should be protected.

Mrs. Justice Simmons said Caines lacked a responsible male parent, particularly in later years of his life. She also took into account his age, the fact he was injured during the bloody machete violence and that he had never been to prison.

Before sentencing, the court heard victim statements from the three brothers.

Marlon said he had nothing against Caines and hoped he had learned his lesson. But he said all three brothers were still missing belongings stolen in the robbery, including a $700 wedding ring and a Gucci chain.

Stevon?s statement said ever since the ?horrific? attack, which left a 13cm head wound, he suffered flashbacks. He said he prayed to God for help in forgiving the defendant and had trouble dealing with his anger.

?I almost died that day,? the statement added. ?I was regurgitating blood. My body went into shock.

?Every day I look into the mirror and I can see that I?m scarred for life. I hope this does not affect me for the rest of my life.?

Father-of-three Devon said his hand injury made him give up the job he held as bus driver for six years amid safety concerns. He said the injury hindered his new job as a construction worker, and said he hoped it was not a permanent disability.

Elizabeth Christopher, for Caines, said her client received a head injury as the violence flared. She said the defendant?s temper would have been aroused, even if the trial did not find a legal case for provocation.

She also said sentencing should take into account the fact the three brothers, the youngest aged 27, had travelled to find a 16 year old and Caines, who was 18 at the time of the offence in November 2003.

Ms Christopher said the wounding case against Marlon was ?not of the utmost severity? and would not normally reach the Supreme Court. The other two brothers were struck with single blows, she added.

Caines, of Curving Avenue, will now carry out a one-year probation order when he leaves jail, which contains a six-month curfew and a linked drink and drugs ban.

?The rest of your life depends on you,? Mrs. Justice Simmons added, as the defendant was led away to start his sentence.

Last month the three Rewan brothers were found guilty of ?chopping? the orange Subaru car during the violence in November 2003.

They were released on absolute discharge after the court agreed they were provoked, but ordered to pay more than $9,000 in damages.