A respected civil servant attacked a man with an adjustable spanner after suspecting that he was having an affair with his wife.

Jailing Neil Westwood for a total of 32 months, Deemster Graeme Cook said it was extremely fortunate that the injuries were not particularly grave or life-threatening.

‘It’s lucky you didn’t kill him. You could have been facing a murder charge,’ he told him.

Westwood, 58, of Maddrell Drive, Peel, admitted attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

The Court of General Gaol Delivery heard that two weeks before the attack on August 31 last year, the defendant’s wife had informed him that she wanted to end their marriage.

He suspected that she was involved in a relationship with a mutual friend and texted his wife to say he was going to come round to the man’s house that evening.

Prosecutor Roger Kane said that the defendant had picked up an adjustable spanner from the footwell of his car.

Footage from the doorbell cam was played in court. It showed the complainant, who was sitting on the sofa with Westwood’s wife, beckoning to the defendant to come in.

Westwood is then seen to produce a wrench in his right hand before jumping on his victim and striking him to the left side of his face.

The pair are then seen grappling and the defendant is disarmed.

Mr Kane said it was the Crown’s case that this was a premeditated attack.

The victim was taken to A&E at Noble’s Hospital where he required six staples to his head wound. Fortunately there was no long-lasting damage.

In a victim impact statement, the complainant said if the blows from the spanner had been better aimed he may have ended up dead.

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said the incident was an ‘isolated, exceptional one-off’ and Westwood’s actions had been ‘wholly out of character’.

He said his client had written to his victim saying he could not overstate the shame and remorse he felt for his ‘stupid, reckless and inexcusable’ actions.

The court heard that Westwood was a well thought about and hard-working professional.

He was an IT specialist who had worked in the private and public sector in the UK and the Isle of Man for the last 30 years as a business analyst, project manager and in information governance.

He is currently employed as a project manager for the Manx government.

Mr Kermode said his client was currently suspended but not dismissed.

Arguing the case for a suspended sentence, he said Westwood wanted to get back to work as soon as possible and had been informed his employment was likely to remain open to him.

But Deemster Cook imposed an immediate custodial sentence of 32 months. ‘We can’t have people taking their law into the own hands armed with weapons,’ he said.

The court heard that Westwood had spent eight months in custody. He will serve half the 32 month sentence, minus time spent on remand, before being released on licence.

Deemster Cook also imposed a restraining order prohibiting the defendant from contacting the complainant indefinitely.