A JUDGE told a man to chase his dream of going to university and to put violence behind him.

An early hours night street attack earned Richard Guy, 22, his third conviction for violence and the threat of prison if he does it again.

Judge Brian Forster QC told Guy from Darlington, who has nine GCSEs, that he was letting himself down, his live-in partner, and risking losing his job and a university future for a prison cell.

The judge told him at Teesside Crown Court: "What I am telling you in simple terms is you have to lift yourself out of this situation.

"You have ideas about getting to university and I hope they come to fruition. You have to sit yourself down and then get on because you should not be putting yourself in this situation."

Guy and other men chased Jonathon Henry,28, through the centre of Richmond, North Yorkshire, after a pub argument, said prosecutor Catharine Fagan.

Mr Henry had been in The Richmond Hotel with his brother-in-law David Zipfal when an argument broke out involving Mr Zipfal who had done some plastering work for Guy's mother, and she was unhappy with it.

Later Mr Henry, who was on licence from prison, threw a bottle in the street and he was chased at 1.15am down an alleyway leading to Bank Yard, Richmond.

Miss Fagan said: "He was punched and kicked while he was on the ground, and he had cuts and bruises to his head and body."

Jonnie Walker, defending Guy, said: "He recognises the severity of not only the injuries but the position in which he finds himself."

Guy, of Wordsworth Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to common assault.

He was given a 12-month community rehabilitation order with supervision and he was ordered to pay £200 towards the prosecution costs.