A reveller who fractured a man's skull in a dance floor brawl must pay his victim £1,000 compensation.
Tony Milner lashed out at Colchester's Chicago Rock Cafe and floored his victim with a single punch, a court heard.
The man received two fractures to his face and bruising, but father-of-four Milner escaped prison when he was sentenced at Colchester Magistrates' Court yesterday.
The 40-year-old admitted a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm after seeing medical evidence and was given a 160-hour community punishment order. He must also pay £70 towards costs.
The court heard Milner, of Greenstead Road, Colchester, was at the Queen Street pub with his wife and her female friends on October 22.
He confronted his victim, who was out on a stag night with friends, after seeing him push one of the women in the party.
Anna Perera, mitigating, said Milner was punched during the course of the confrontation and believed the man he was arguing with was responsible, so he hit him back.
He now accepts the punch came from elsewhere, she added, and is "horrified and deeply ashamed" at his actions.
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Published Thursday, February 17, 2005
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