A MAN injured in a drunken pub brawl could have suffered a broken jaw from clashing with "heavy-handed" bouncers, a court heard.

Michael Woods, was celebrating his 21st birthday when he got into a fight with Adam Dawes, in the Lounge nightclub, in Darlington, on June 15 last year.

Barry Smith, prosecuting, told Darlington Magistrates' Court that at 11pm Woods and Mr Dawes started fighting in the club.

Bouncers intervened and threw them both out, and the fracas continued in the car park.

While Woods was not involved in the incident in the car park, a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went over and joined in the melee.

The police were called and Mr Dawes ended up in hospital with a broken jaw.

Graham Hunsley, mitigating, said his clients did not break Mr Dawes' jaw, and that it was more likely bouncers who caused the injury.

"It seems the door staff behaved in a robust fashion, or you might say heavy handed," he said.

Mr Hunsley told the court that when the 17-year-old youth was thrown out of the club, he saw bouncers assaulting Mr Dawes.

He said that a witness had described how Mr Dawes had said afterwards that he was hit very hard in the face by a bouncer.

Charges of assault causing grievous bodily harm were dropped and Woods, of Cobden Street, Darlington, and the youth, each pleaded guilty to affray. They were both given 12-month conditional discharges and ordered to pay £55 costs each.

No-one at the Lounge nightclub was available for comment last night.