A MAN attacked a fellow dog walker as he had no cigarettes to give to him, a court heard.

Anthony Hobkirk reacted angrily at the refusal and grabbed the other man round the neck, before punching him to the face, and, as he fell to the ground, continued to land blows.

Durham Crown Court heard that Hobkirk told the by then prone man he was going to stamp on him, but the victim managed to deflect his foot.

Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said it gave the injured man time to get to his own feet and run home.

Miss Waugh said he was taken to hospital where he underwent corrective surgery for two fractures of the jaw, with the insertion of screws and metal plates.

The court heard that almost nine months after the incident he still finds it difficult to chew food and suffers nerve damage, with a ‘tingling’ sensation and numbness around his face.

Miss Waugh said Hobkirk, who was with a woman, was walking his Staffordshire bull terrier, Tyson, in Bourne Street, Easington Colliery, at 3.10am on July 10, 2016, when he crossed paths with the complainant and his partner, also exercising their pet dog.

She said after chatting about their dogs, Hobkirk asked the other man for a cigarette.

On being told he had none, the defendant turned violent.

Following the incident, police arrested Hobkirk, based on the description they were given.

He made no reply and the other couple had to attend an identity parade, at which they both picked him out as the culprit.

Despite their evidence, 28-year-old Hobkirk, of East Dene Road, Seaham, denied unlawful wounding and it was only on the day of his trial, with both witnesses at court to give evidence, that he changed his plea to guilty earlier this month.

Miss Waugh said the couple involved left Easington as a result of the attack, returning to their former home area in Scotland.

Martin Scarborough, in mitigation, said in the 20 months since the incident, Hobkirk has tried to distance himself from former bad influences in his life.

He added that while in custody, since admitting the offence, the defendant has found regular work within the prison regime.

Jailing him for 28 months, Judge Simon Hickey told him it was, “a nasty and unprovoked attack.”