AN EGREMONT man who drank 24 bottles of lager before shattering a man’s jaw with a single punch has been jailed for 18 months.

Lee Dunn, 37, who had to be held back as he tried to continue his attack even after his victim Joseph Linklater collapsed, later admitted causing him grievous bodily harm.

At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Alan Lovett described how Mr Linklater was in an Egremont pub with his daughter on June 17 last year – an evening when England were playing in the World Cup.

Believing that Dunn was acting boisterously, Mr Linklater made a derogatory comment about him to his daughter – but Dunn overheard it, said Mr Lovett. Dunn then approached Mr Linklater and asked him what he thought he was doing.

Later, in Egremont town centre, witnesses saw Dunn, of Whitegate, aggressively “squaring up” to his victim. His subsequent attack was captured on CCTV, and the recording was played for the court.

Despite Mr Linklater holding up his hands and trying to back away, Dunn delivered what judge Paul Batty QC called a “mighty blow”. The victim collapsed as onlookers moved in to prevent Dunn from continuing his attack. Mr Linklater’s jaw was so badly fractured he needed an operation in which surgeons inserted a titanium plate.

Kim Whittlestone, for Dunn, said her client recognised he had a problem with his temper and that he should not have reacted as he did. Since the incident, she added, Dunn had avoided alcohol.