A DRUNKEN confrontation in a town centre pub left one man with a badly broken ankle after he was punched to the ground.

Joseph Thompson told his victim that he was going to ‘knock him out’ before delivering the blow which left the man in crippling pain.

The off-shore worker had previously threatened his victim before the brutal attack in Dickens Inn in Middlesbrough, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The 32-year-old launched the unprovoked attack on April 4 last year when he bumped into his victim at the bar.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said: “The defendant had made a threat directly to the victim on a previous occasion.

“When he saw him at the bar he said ‘you’re lucky you inside because if you were outside I would knock you out’. He (the victim) saw him take his cap off but he didn’t see what happened next.

“He immediately felt a punch to the face and immediately fell to the floor.”

Miss Masters said door staff came to the man’s aid and sent him off to hospital after finding him in excruciating pain.

She added: “He suffered a cut to the inside of his mouth caused by his teeth but his ankle was broken in three places and dislocated and he remained in hospital for four days.

“He spent four to six weeks on crutches which caused him problems as he works offshore and is an active person.”

Thompson, of Church Lane, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

In mitigation, Robert Mochrie, said: “He has attended the court fully in the knowledge that he is going to receive a custodial sentence.

“Given the current guidance from the government it has created something of a perfect storm as far as self-isolation is concerned, he has not taken the opportunity to swing the lead, he has come here to face the music knowing full well that he will be leaving court by the back door and not the front.”

Judge Paul Watson QC acknowledged that Mr Mochrie was the first to use the consequences of the Coronavirus in his courtroom during mitigation.

He said: “This was a disgraceful piece of conduct, there was absolutely no need for it, it was something out of nothing and there really was no need. As a result he’s been really quite seriously injured.

“This was something of an isolated matter. I’m quite satisfied it was unpremeditated.

“In the last ten years you’ve been doing your best to make something of yourself.

“I’m quite satisfied that you’ll have learnt a very harsh lesson from this conviction.”

Thompson was given a ten-month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay his victim £2,500 in compensation within six months.