A MAN who fractured the jaw of a person he claimed was being a pest towards him and his girlfriend in a pub walked free yesterday.

Adam Wellings knocked out David Johnson with an uppercut and punched him several more times when he was on the floor, a court heard.

Wellings admitted causing grievous bodily harm, and was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with 18 months supervision.

Teesside Crown Court heard that trouble flared between the two men in Loons bar, in Hartlepool town centre, on April 25 this year.

Wellings was in the pub with his girlfriend, when Mr Johnson - who knew the woman from their college days - approached the couple.

Richard Parsell, prosecuting, told the court that Wellings was hostile and hurled a torrent of abuse.

After being knocked unconscious and hit again, Mr Johnson came around and ran from the bar before being taken to hospital for treatment.

Wellings was thrown out by door staff, but was arrested a month later and admitted he had been involved in an encounter in the pub.

He told police during an interview that Mr Johnson had annoyed him and refused to leave him and his girlfriend alone, the court heard.

Robin Denny, mitigating, described the attack as "an unattractive piece of violence", but said: "There was a degree of provocation."

He added: "He accepts that that was no justification. He accepts that what he did was wrong, and that he is getting into far too much trouble."

The factory worker, of York Road, Hartlepool, was told by Judge George Moorhouse: "It is quite clear that when in drink you cannot control your temper.

"I accept that you regret what you did that night and that you were to, some extent, provoked."

In a victim impact statement, Mr Johnson said the attack has left him afraid to go outside, and added: "I find it shocking I have been assaulted to the extent that I need an operation."