TWO men have been jailed for three-and-a-half years for beating and robbing a 50-year-old computer engineer who fell asleep on a train.

Aaron Conway, of Parkside Avenue, Barnehurst, and Thomas Knapp, from Bognor Regis, both aged 22, prowled the railway carriage looking for a passenger to attack, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The court heard David Crouch, from Greenwich, had boarded the train at Charing Cross at 11.40pm and had intended to get off the train at Maze Hill train station but slept past his stop.

He woke up as he was being punched repeatedly in the head.

Mr Crouch was left battered, bleeding and in need of hospital treatment when he was finally allowed to stagger off the train as it pulled into Belvedere station.

All his possessions had been stolen, including his rucksack, phone and keys, during the incident on May 15.

A passenger who was in the same carriage as Mr Crouch called police after hearing Conway and Knapp demanding money from their victim.

Police were called to Belvedere station but CCTV pictures later showed the thugs running across the platform to leap on a train travelling in the opposite direction before officers arrived.

The pair were arrested several days after the assault.

Conway and Knapp both admitted robbery.

Passing sentence last Thursday, Judge Anthony Pitts told them: "You launched an utterly unprovoked and vicious attack on your victim."

Speaking outside the court, Mr Crouch, who works for the Home Office, said he was not disappointed with the sentence.

He added: "I've still got a numbness down the cheek, which I've been told will heal up.

"My back teeth are still very sensitive.

"I don't really have a problem getting on trains but I'm definitely more conscious of what is going on around me.

"I'm more wary of groups of people than I was in the past, especially youngsters."