A FATHER and son who sparked a bar-room brawl with a man they believed was staring at them have walked free from court.

Steven Fleming, 47, and son James, 22, were ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community penalty.

The pair laid into Andrew Pepper in the Cleveland Hotel pub in Redcar on March 6, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The court was told that the fight spilled into the car park where Mr Pepper was punched and kicked on the ground.

He suffered scratches and bruising to his face and the top of his head as well as an ankle injury and bleeding into his eye.

The Flemings denied a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but were found guilty by a jury after a trial last month.

Defence barristers claimed that the pair were acting in self-defence and had been provoked by Mr Pepper and his friend, Edward Jackson.

Jonathan Walker, for the father, of Guildford Road, Middlesbrough, said: "There was evidence in this case of a heated discussion between the parties.

"Whether it was an unprovoked attack as suggested by the complainant is questionable. There was certainly a heated confrontation."

He added: "Mr Fleming is a working man, a family man and an industrious man not prone, in the usual course of events, to random acts of violence.

"He is extremely chastened by not only the trial, but also the potential ramifications.

"This is a usually respectful, trustworthy industrious family man who, on one dreadful night, got involved in something he recognises now he should have walked away from."

The court heard that Fleming's unemployed son, of Roseberry Road, Redcar, hopes to get a job where his father is an inspector and supervisor with a scaffolding firm.

His barrister, David Lamb, said: "March 6 has had a significant and lasting impact on this young man. He has rarely been out of the house aside from playing football on a Saturday and Sunday."

Judge George Moorhouse told the son: "Fortunately, Mr Pepper did not sustain very serious injuries. I have read references about you, and the probation report says you went into this fight to protect your father."