A MAN known to friends as "a wind-up merchant" was savagely beaten and needed an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain after ribbing a friend.

Daniel Henry knocked out Michael Kinlan after he made fun of him being coaxed out of a stand-off with police with the promise of two cigarettes months earlier.

A court heard yesterday that Henry attacked his 32-year-old friend three times in a Middlesbrough pub, in March, when the mickey-taking became too much for him.

In front of other drinking friends, Henry knocked Mr Kinlan unconscious with a single punch after saying: "You're not making fun of me."

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said Mr Kinlan became conscious after several minutes, but was then knocked out for a second time when the argument with 20-year-old Henry resumed.

Henry left the pub to calm down. When he returned half an hour later, he was grabbed by his jacket and headbutted by Mr Kinlan and thrown into the car park.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Henry knocked Mr Kinlan to the ground and, as he lay unconscious, and unable to fight back, Henry punched him twice more.

Mr Dryden said Ian Harbottle, the landlord of The Cambridge Hotel, intervened and Henry walked off. An ambulance was called to take Mr Kinlan to hospital.

Doctors discovered he had a fractured skull, a fractured jaw and a blood clot on his brain. He was kept in hospital for almost a fortnight after his operation.

The court heard that the men - said to have been "very close friends for some considerable time" - had since patched up their differences, and Mr Kinlan has recovered.

After the March 1 attack, Mr Harbottle told police that Mr Kinlan was well-known as a "wind-up merchant" and enjoyed making fun of people in front of others.

Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said Henry was bullied, mocked and humiliated at school and found it more difficult than most to ignore such insults.

Mr Constantine said that, while Mr Kinlan did not deserve to suffer such horrific injuries, it might not have happened had he not attacked Henry when he returned.

Henry, of Central Avenue, Middlesbrough, admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was given an extended sentence after the court was told of earlier convictions for violence.

In 2002, Henry punched a woman in the face, left the scene, returned and struck her again, and the following year he was involved in a drink-fuelled affray.

Judge Peter Bowers imposed a four-year sentence, two-and-a-half in custody in a young offenders' institution, and the remainder on licence with recall.