RELATIVES of a father killed by a bouncer reacted angrily yesterday as he was jailed for three years.

George Lumsden, 41, sent Steven Pillings, 44, sprawling with one punch outside a nightclub in Croydon, Surrey.

Mr Pillings hit his head on the road and fractured his skull, the Old Bailey had heard.

Lumsden, a labourer and doorman from Newcastle, who was on a trip to London at the time, was jailed for three years.

Judge Gerald Gordon said he had taken into account the remorse Lumsden had shown and that he did not know the victim was injured when he left the scene.

He said: "As a result of your unprovoked behaviour, a decent family man is dead, leaving a widow and a son without a father."

Mr Pillings, from Surrey, was in the nightclub last July, but trouble began when a friend of his was thrown out.

Mr Pillings began to argue with staff, and Lumsden, a bouncer at Madison's nightclub, in Newcastle, stepped in and hit him on the chin. A post-mortem examination revealed he had severe skull fractures and a brain injury.

David Robson, in mitigation, said: 'He launched himself into an argument which was not his and, tragically, with one blow, without intending any kind of serious harm, caused the death of Mr Pillings.'

Lumsden, who is married and has a 14-year-old daughter, has eight previous convictions, including wounding.

Lumsden, of Whittingham Road, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, admitted manslaughter in February.

After the hearing, Mr Pillings' widow, Lynn, said she thought it was disgusting that her husband's killer could be released on licence in 18 months.

She said: "It is just not right and it is just not fair, that is all I can say."