A Dagenham drug dealer who beat a man in an "extreme and relentless" attack with his own walking stick has been jailed.

Dylan White, 22, assaulted the victim after a verbal dispute in a McDonald’s restaurant in Hastings town centre on March 19, 2019.

CCTV footage captured both men leaving the area but they returned moments later.

White then began hitting the 53-year-old with the victim’s walking stick, continuing to beat the man when he fell to the ground.

A passer-by intervened and White fled the scene. Police found the walking stick in a recycling bin nearby.

The victim was taken to hospital with a bleed on his brain, a cut to the head, a fractured finger and bruising to his body.

White, of Rugby Road, was arrested and charged before pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent at Lewes Crown Court on June 14 this year.

Bernadette Peters of Hastings CID said: “The level of violence shown by White towards the victim was extreme and relentless.

“The victim in this case died a few months after the attack due to unrelated matters, but we still continued with our investigation to ensure a dangerous offender was brought to justice.”

White was remanded in custody until sentencing, which was adjourned to allow two other charges against him to be heard.

He was charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs after being arrested in November 2018.

White had been found in possession of a key to a room in a Hastings guest house, where police uncovered 63 wraps of heroin and 81 wraps of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of £1,500.

He was also charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs after police dismantled a county line that he was running from east London to Hastings.

Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police officers executed a search warrant at White's home in Becontree on March 9 this year.

White was found in possession of a phone that was sending out bulk messages advertising Class A drugs, which he would travel to Hastings to sell.

When presented with the evidence against him, White pleaded guilty to both drugs charges.

He was sentenced to a total of seven years and nine months behind bars for the three offences at Lewes Crown Court on December 20.