A SOLDIER has admitted a brutal assault that left a man needing seven stitches in his face and thousands of pounds worth of dental work.

Northallerton Magistrates’ Court heard today (Friday, March 3) that 20-year-old Darren Davis repeatedly punched and kicked his victim’s face as he lay on the ground of a McDonald’s car park in Catterick.

Prosecutor Kim Coley told the court that CCTV footage of the incident in the early hours of December 11 showed that Davis was punched first and initially did not react.

However as the altercation continued he then went on to viciously assault his assailant and later bragged about the attack to a taxi driver who took him back to his barracks.

The driver returned to the scene of the assault after dropping Davis off and told police what he had heard.

Ms Coley said the victim needed five stitches to his head, two to his lower lip and had a dental bridge and a crown knocked out which cost almost £5,000 to replace.

Mitigating, James Fenny said that Davis, who serves in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, had ‘great potential’ in the Army and emphasised that he initially kept his hands in his pockets and tried to get away from the man who punched him first.

He added: “It is clearly more than provocation, it is actually an assault on my client.”

Mr Fenny said that Davis did go ‘beyond any form of self-defence’ and accepted his guilt in the assault.

Magistrates said they needed to see the CCTV footage before making their sentencing decision but the file was not in a format that could be played to the court.

The case was adjourned for the footage to be reformatted and Davis, of Wallacewell Road, Glasgow, was released on bail until March 17 with the condition that he does not enter the Catterick McDonald’s.