A DRUNKEN teenager who attacked a man working on a car was jailed yesterday.

George Elcoate, 19, demanded the ignition keys from the Autoglass worker and then punched him, breaking his nose.

As the owner of the Kia car watched from her home Elcoate walked away. He was arrested four days later hiding in the loft of his house under a carpet, said John Gillette, prosecuting.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Barry Oakden was repairing a window on the car in Lanchester Road, Grangetown, when Elcoate, who had been drinking on his birthday, demanded he leave it with the keys in the ignition.

Mr Oakden saw a bulge in Elcoate's pocket which he feared might have been a gun so he obeyed but removed the keys. Elcoate then punched him on the nose.

Paul Cleasby, mitigating, said: "He has a problem with alcohol and it was a completely stupid thing to do.

"There was no effort to take the car. He made no attempt to get into it and he simply walked off. He accepts that a custodial sentence is inevitable.

"His abuse of alcohol has led him into trouble on many occasions. He had no need for the car and no grudge against the man he hit.

"He tends his apology to the victim and all he can say is 'I am sorry, it should not have happened'."

Elcoate, of Westcroft Road, Grangetown, was sent to a young offenders' institution for three years after he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to rob.