A man walked up to somebody he was involved in a feud with and blasted him in the face with a can of pepper spray, a court has heard.
Gareth Brian Roberts had bought the banned weapon on the internet. Swansea Crown Court heard the victim had no idea what had been squirted at him and initially feared he would lose his sight.
Sophie Hill, prosecuting, said the background to the incident was a "feud" between Roberts and a man called Anthony Nolan.
On the afternoon of November 3 last year Mr Nolan was in Charles Street in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, with his brothers, mother, and four-year-old niece when he was approached by the defendant.
The court heard Roberts said "You're all going to f***ing have it" and sprayed a substance into Mr Nolan's face from a small black canister before dumping the item in a bin in the nearby Greggs bakery.
Roberts was tackled by his victim's brothers and taken to the floor and restrained. During the tussle he suffered a bloody nose.
The prosecutor said Mr Nolan later described how he felt a pain in eyes and face when first squirted and was fearful he would lose his sight.
Police were soon on the scene and arrested Roberts and recovered the canister. The court heard while being held at the police station the defendant carried out a so-called dirty protest by spreading his faeces on the walls of his cell.
Miss Hill said Mr Nolan had suffered no lasting damage to his eyes in the attack.
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Roberts, of Station Road, St Clears, Carmarthenshire, admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and to administering a poison or noxious substance with intent. The court heard he has a previous conviction for possession of knives from 2013 as well as convictions for battery and harassment.
Stuart John, for Roberts, said while there had been a "history of acrimony" between the parties involved in the incident the defendant accepted the attack on the street had been "entirely unprovoked".
He added that his client had mental health issues and was "absolutely petrified" at the prospect of going to prison.
Judge Paul Thomas QC said the courts took a stern view of people buying and using the kind of weapon Roberts had.
He said whatever the background to the incident in terms of a dispute between the defendant and the Nolan family the defendant was guilty of "serious criminality, serious violence" and only an immediate custodial sentence was approriate.
Roberts was jailed for a year and made the subject of a three-year restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.
The court heard Roberts has previously been fined £40 by magistrates for the damage to his cell during the dirty protest and the judge called the decision by the lower court to deal with the offence separately in that way rather then sending all matters to the higher court as "remarkable".
