A THUG who launched a violent attack in a bar, punching his victim as he lay on the ground, has been spared jail.

Luis Harvey, 41,  served up a flurry of punches at Fatty's bar, in High Street, Hadleigh, to a victim he had an old feud with.

He was kneeling over Fergal Canning to deliver the blows and only stopped when a fellow customer stepped in to pull him away.

Harvey appeared before Southend Magistrates Court for sentence having previously pleaded guilty to the assault on December 7 last year.

He had also admitted possession of 26g of cocaine which was found by police at his home in Church Road, Hadleigh, 12 days later.

Prosecutor Lesley Chipps said the victim had come out if the

Simon Samuels, mitigating, said: "It's not a case that he went out looking for the aggrieved, because the original row was now some years ago.

"Unfortunately Mr Harvey was in a drunken state in the bar, saw the aggrieved, he says words were exchanged. The end result was that Mr Harvey lost his temper and behaved the way he did."

He said with regards to the drugs Harvey had been using cocaine to a "large level."

Harvey was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work. He must also pay £105 costs, an £80 victim surcharge and £150 compensation.