In February last year, Cournane found rubbish in front of his house when he arrived home.
It was not the first time this happened so he put the rubbish back on Mitchell's property, through the fence.
Mitchell went to Cournane's house, yelled at him until finally he invited him to go to his house to "sort things out".
Cournane said he thought he was going to die.
However, as he and his wife were struggling with the harassment, he decided to go.
"I should have known better."
When he arrived, Mitchell moved in his direction with a hammer and aimed at Cournane's head.
He managed to put his hand up and the hammer's claw got embedded in his hands.
Mitchell kept kicking and punching the victim until another neighbour intervened.
After a trial, Mitchell was found guilty by a jury of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
During sentencing yesterday, Judge Turner had Mitchell removed from the courtroom because of his behaviour.
While the judge was reading his sentencing remarks, Mitchell started to shout, saying he did not agree with the verdict.
"You are a liar.
"There is no truth in all of that," he said to the victim, who was present in the court.
Judge Turner said Mitchell, who had previous convictions, had a propensity to resort to violence to solve disputes or when he felt confronted by others, including authority.
The lack of remorse or acceptance of his responsibility were also highlighted by the judge, who sentenced Mitchell to four years and one month of imprisonment.
After the court session, Cournane said justice had been served and he now felt safe.
