Hotel drunk punched man in the face on Christmas Eve after joke fell flat

Jamie Graham struck at The Britannia in Halesowen Street, Blackheath, after failing to see the funny side of a jokey comment from another member of the group he was celebrating with, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

James Adams observed 'you have had a few' when the 22-year-old knocked over his chair while standing up to go to the bar, explained Mr Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting.

Graham walked up to the other man, who was still seated, and punched the startled victim in the face. A scuffle ensued during which the defendant hit the victim in the head while clutching an empty pint glass that shattered on impact.

Mr Adams was taken to hospital for treatment to cuts to his head and eyebrow while his attacker was ushered out of the pub and later arrested.

Mr Andrew Hope, defending, said: "The words ashamed, embarrassed and apologetic sum up the feelings of the defendant. This was completely out of character.

"Because of the day of the year, he had drunk far more than he should have done. This ensured that when he knocked over his chair he did not laugh off the light hearted comment as he would normally have done.

"He had the empty glass in his hand because he was going up to the bar and this connected with the head of the complainant. It was a very stupid thing to do but thankfully the actual consequences were considerably less severe than they might have been."

Graham from Marsham Road, Kings Heath, of previous good character, pleaded guilty to assault and was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for 18 months with 100 hours unpaid work and £475 compensation. Recorder John Butterfield told him: "This was disgraceful behaviour."