At Oxford Crown Court today (Wednesday) a jury of seven women and four men took seven hours and 29 minutes to find Ian Holland of Edinburgh Way, Banbury, guilty of the attempted murder of Adam Dickson.

Mr Dickson suffered serious multiple injuries including a fractured skull, brain swelling and an increased risk of epilepsy following the early morning attack on the driveway of his parents' Adderbury home last year.

Holland attacked Mr Dickson for wrongly believing him to the be the new boyfriend of his former partner Lisa Cebral, with whom he had a child.

After dropping Miss Cebral home after a night out with friends in June 2007, Mr Dickson - her lifelong friend - accepted a cup of tea before driving home.

At about 3.15am as he walked along his parents' driveway, Mr Dickson was struck from behind just feet from the front door.

Because of the injuries he sustained, Mr Dickson told the court he had no recollection of the assault, or his attacker.

During the trial he said: "I remember the drive home and I remember getting into Adderbury but I have no recollection of anything beyond that.

"My next memory is waking up in the John Radcliffe Hospital."

Mr Dickson's parents Roy and Janet were awoken by a man's shout and on going outside to investigate found their son, then 30, collapsed on the floor in a pool of blood.

They called an ambulance and Mr Dickson was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery on his skull. He spent four-and-a-half weeks in hospital and is still receiving treatment. He has not yet returned to work.

Just hours before the assault, Miss Cebral's neighbours spotted a masked intruder wearing a boiler suit "bobbing and weaving" around her rear garden in King's Sutton.

The neighbours - who police said were 75 per cent sure the prowler was male - saw the figure looking into Miss Cebral's home and contacted the police, who found no-one on attending the scene.

Later when Miss Cebral and Mr Dickson returned from their night out, Miss Cebral received numerous hoax phone calls which were later traced to Holland's mobile phone.

Giving evidence, Miss Cebral said: "I felt that I was being watched."
When police swooped on a house in Fringford to arrest Holland he tried to escape. Officers then found his mobile phone discarded in the garden where he was caught.

During a search of the property where he had been staying, a note creating an alibi for an unspecified evening was found with Holland's fingerprints on it.

Following his arrest, Holland made no comment during police interviews and only in court did he put forward a defence which had not been heard prior to the trial.

He contradicted his evidence numerous times during cross-examination by prosecutor David Bright. A hearing impediment Holland insisted he needed special provision for was also questioned.

Mr Bright asked: "Is there any possibility you are having trouble with the lipspeaker in court because you are buying yourself time to think?"

During the trial, which lasted more than a week, former partners told the court of Holland's bad character, past convictions and his jealous, possessive and controlling behaviour.

They included Miss Cebral, who said Holland had stalked her, tried to run her off the road, tampered with her car and harassed her with calls and texts.

He was also spotted prowling around her garden and trying to break into her home.

He was said to have threatened to kill ex-girlfiends and any new boyfriends they might have and had convictions including assault and harassment against former partners.

No forensic or scientific evidence was ever found linking Holland to Mr Dickson or the scene of the assault and the jury formed their verdict based entirely on circumstantial evidence.

After the case, Inspector Steve Duffy described the assault as a "cowardly attack on a defenceless man".

Referring to the verdict and the impact on Mr Dickson's family, he added: "It does not make a lot of difference to them; they still have to live with what happened to Adam and that is what is important."

Holland was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday, August 26.