A MINICAB driver had his arm fractured by his boss as he saved his brother from being smashed in the head with a garden hoe.

Farwizollah Ahmadi, aged 28, tried to punch and kick the brothers and swung a metal ladder at them before lunging with the heavy-bladed garden tool outside Crystal Cars, Church Road, Crystal Palace in June last year.

Croydon Crown Court heard the father-of-two, of Petten Grove, Orpington, became violent after Shahzad Mehmood and Sajid Rafiq, who both drove minicabs for the company, complained he had not fully paid one of them.

After an argument he lashed out at the pair with his fists and feet as they tried to calm him down, whereupon he was ushered into the street by the brothers and a group of their fellow drivers.

But a furious Ahmadi swung at the pair with a nearby ladder before leaving briefly and returning to attack the brothers with the hoe.

Judge Ruth Downing, sentencing said Ahmadi had brought the blade down with such tremendous power it would have fractured Mr Rafiq’s skull if his brother had not intervened.

The court heard Mr Mehmoud’s heroic effort had led to him spiralling into debt, as his broken arm meant he was unable to work for several weeks to support his four children.

He remains in pain from his injury and is no longer able to carry heavy baggage as part of his job.

Judge Downing sentenced Ahmadi to a total of 12 months in jail, after the minicab driver pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, telling him they fell only just short of the more serious offence of causing grievous bodily harm.