A DETECTIVE who left a man brain damaged when he felled him with a punch was jailed for 15 months yesterday.

Father-of-three Graeme McMillan, 44, was knocked to the ground when he sprang to the defence of his wife following a comment made by a stag night reveller.

Detective Constable John Beresford and his friends, who had been drinking all day, walked away as Mr McMillan lay on the ground with blood pouring from his left ear.

Mr McMillan's wife, Carole, broke down in tears as the jury at Newcastle Crown Court found her husband's attacker guilty of grievous bodily harm.

The court heard how the attack by Beresford, 44, had destroyed his victim's life.

Judge John Milford said although Beresford was of exemplary character, an "excellent family man and citizen who had been a good policeman" the inevitable jail term for such an attack could not be avoided.

He said: "I have no doubt what you did was out of character. Had you been sober, it would not have happened, but it did.

"You shattered a man's life and that of his family. You may feel your life is shattered too, and in many ways it is.

"But you have your health and the capacity to rebuild your life when you have served your sentence. Mr McMillan has no such option."

The court had heard how Mr and Mrs McMillan were enjoying a night out on Newcastle's Quayside on June 8 last year when the incident took place.

John Evans, prosecuting, told the court how the couple were making their way towards a taxi rank when they heard someone make a comment about Mrs McMillan.

When Mr McMillan told the group they should show some respect, he was punched to the ground.

The court heard how Beresford had been out since lunchtime with colleagues from the Durham force celebrating a forthcoming marriage.

Mr McMillan, of Kingston Park, Newcastle, spent weeks in intensive care in a coma.

Durham Constabulary officer Beresford, of Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, admitted hitting Mr McMillan, but said it was in self-defence.

Paul Sloan, QC, defending, said: "What happened was not of his making. He did not cause or set out to cause trouble. He reacted to trouble that arose.

"His reaction was instantaneous; it was spontaneous. There was no premeditation on his part."