A SEMI-PROFESSIONAL footballer lost a tooth and had part of his nose bitten off after he was attacked in a pub by a drunken man.

Michael Robson, who plays for Spennymoor Football Club, in County Durham, had to give up playing football for several months following the incident in April.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Mr Robson, who is also a learning mentor for special needs children, had been playing football in Nottingham before he returned to the North-East to go drinking with friends the night the attack took place.

He was in the Stony Oak pub in Billingham, Teesside, when Darren Bardsley, 36, kicked him as he sat with friends.

When Mr Robson asked what he was doing, Bardsley punched him in the face.

Ian West, prosecuting, said: "He was knocked off the chair and on to the floor.

"Mr Bardsley attacked him and the two men began to scuffle on the floor.

"Mr Bardsley, who was on top of Mr Robson, then proceeded to bite his nose, he could not get him off.

"Mr Robson described being kicked in the face on the floor and he lost a front tooth during the incident."

The court heard that Andrew Wilson, 24, had been drinking with Bardsley and also became involved in the fight, but he said it was not him who had kicked the footballer in the face.

Mr Robson has since lost the feeling in the end of his nose and said the injuries he suffered had a devastating effect on him.

Shaun Dryden, for Bardsley, said: "If he had not drunk as much, the incident might not have happened.

"He does drink heavily on social occasions.

"He was the aggressor and does not dispute how the incident started."

Rod Hunt, for Wilson, said his involvement had been short-lived and he was a man of previously good character.

Sentencing Bardsley, Judge Peter Bowers said: "What you did was both cowardly and vicious. It is one thing to get a man when he was down, but to bite the end of his nose off is another."

Bardsley, of Chatsworth Gardens, Billingham, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Wilson, of Hornsey Close, Billingham, admitted affray and was given a 150-hour community punishment order.