A BAR attack left the victim unconscious and fearing he was going to be killed, a court heard.

Lee Maher, of Rydal Close in Dalton, kicked the complainant twice with a shod foot while he was defenceless on the ground at The Knights Sports Bar in Barrow at 1:40 am on April 29 last year, prosecutor Beth Pilling said.

Preston Crown Court heard the assault occurred after Maher – aged 41 - had rushed to the assistance of his partner who had become involved in an altercation with another female over a spilled drink.

Ms Pilling said the defendant pushed the male to the ground who was assisting his wife before he placed his fingers into his mouth and aimed kicks at the man’s body.

She played CCTV footage from the establishment which showed the defendant at the bar with his stepdaughter before the incident took place.

He was quickly pulled away by door staff and other members of the public, the court heard.

Prosecutors were unable to say for sure where the blows landed on the victim, the court was told.

The victim’s impact statement was summarised by Ms Pilling who said the victim described being ‘unconscious for a short period of time’ and that he said he thought the defendant was going to kill him.

Ms Pilling added the complainant suffered a broken tooth in the back of his mouth as well as bruising to the body.

She said the victim replayed the events in his head every day and that he had suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and depression as a result.

In mitigation, Tom Lord described his client’s actions as a ‘glaring error of judgement’.

He added: “The defendant got completely the wrong end of the stick and the complainant has paid the price.

“The defendant and his partner are deeply apologetic.”

The court heard Maher had nine previous convictions for 13 offences including wounding, battery and assaulting an emergency worker.

Ms Pilling told the court he was sentenced to a suspended sentence order on April 29 last year for an affray at a public house which pre-dated this offence.

His Honour Judge Darren Preston described the assault which occasioned actual bodily harm as an ‘ugly incident’ when sentencing Maher to a eight-month suspended sentence for 12 months and 200 hours of unpaid work.

He also ordered the defendant to pay £1,000 in compensation to the victim of the assault to be paid at £150 p/m.