THE bad boy brother of pop star Cheryl Cole has been allowed to keep his freedom until after the birth of his first baby.

Former drug addict Andrew Tweedy is facing jail after pepper spraying a man in the face and was due to be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday.

But because the 28-year-old was too ill to attend a probation appointment for the preparation of a pre-sentence report his case was adjourned until May 11.

His girlfriend, who was with him at court yesterday, is due to give birth on May 3.

Tweedy, of Langhorn Close, Newcastle, had attacked civil servant Lee Clark on August 13 last year.

He pleaded guilty to common assault and possession of a prohibited weapon, the pepper spray, and was warned at his last court hearing prison was an option.

Tweedy has many previous convictions, including street robbery at the age of 13, and was jailed for six years in 1996 for stabbing two students in a city pub.

In 2005 he was jailed along with accomplice Syd Rook after the pair targeted Kian Brady as he made his way home alone from Newcastle city centre in the early hours of the morning after finishing work.