A JUDGE today warned a violent yob that he could be locked up indefinitely unless he curbs his temper and stays out of trouble.

Christopher Hugill was jailed for two years for punching a man in a row at a taxi rank in Richmond, North Yorkshire, last October.

The conviction is one of a number 27-year-old Hugill has for violence going back to his school days, Teesside Crown Court was told.

And the attack saw him recalled to prison to complete a 33-month sentence from which he was released early just two months earlier.

Hugill punched a man in the face and hit him again when the victim took a step back and laughed, said prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi.

It was said there had been trouble between the pair inside The Turf Hotel two hours before the assault, but Hugill denied being inside.

He told police after his arrest that the other man had been the aggressor and he was acting in self-defence when he lashed out.

The court heard that Hugill was put in a headlock after he threw punches, and bit the other man on the thumb as they scuffled.

Hugill, from Middlesbrough, but of no fixed abode, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on October 24 last year.

His barrister, Paul Abrahams, said his "bad record" of previous convictions for violence put Hugill at risk of another prison sentence.

He asked Judge Peter Bowers to impose a term which meant his release date from his recall on licence would not be extended.

Hugill was recalled in March to complete the sentence he received for punching and kicking a man during a fight in 2009.

The court heard that he had assaults on his record - including attacks on police officers - in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007.

Judge Bowers told him: "If you get any more convictions (for violence) you are likely to get an indefinite sentence.

"The violence is such that it is getting to the stage that that is the only way to contain you. You were on licence and acting in a way you have in the past."