A DRINKER who was deriding Darlington in a town centre pub sparked a brawl which left one man in hospital and another in jail.

Trouble flared in the bar at Hoskins when Alan Scott's nephew made "noisy criticisms" of the town, Teesside Crown Court was told.

A scuffle between Scott and another man outside is said to have led to the 35-year-old being punched and left covered in blood.

When the other man returned to the pub, Scott rushed in from behind and punched him to the floor, said prosecutor Martin Towers.

He then whacked him across the back with a heavy bar stool and continued to kick and punch him as he lay prone on the carpet.

Scott, of Shakespeare Road, Darlington, was locked up for six months after he admitted affray from August 4 last year.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told the jobless factory worker: "People want to go into a public house and have a quiet pint or drink.

"All too often, people go out, get drunk and take out their grievances. That cannot be tolerated. This was a bad case of affray.

"It is made worse by your use of two weapons. Anyone who resorts to kicking somebody on the ground will face prison."

The court heard that Scott was jailed for actual bodily harm in 2005 for an attack in the street which involved kicking and punching.

In March last year - just five months before the incident in the pub - he was cautioned for using threatening words or behaviour.

Jonathan Harley, mitigating, said Scott had trouble controlling his temper when he had been drinking, but has tried to cut down on booze.

When he was arrested with grazes on both fists and a bloodied face, the drunken attacker boasted: "I knocked the big fella out."

He later told police he had "clocked him" but said he was ashamed of his actions, Mr Towers told Judge Bourne-Arton.

Mr Harley said: "When in drink and there are ingredients there for this to happen, he loses his head and reason goes out of the window."