Drunk thug broke man's jaw by punching him repeatedly in the face for refusing to give him a piggyback ride in Leeds city centre

The victim had to have an operation to have metal plates fitted to his face after the attack on New York Street.

Leeds Crown Court heard Richard Thorpe carried out the unprovoked assault on an innocent member of the public who was "minding his own business".

Thorpe, 33, took offence when the man refused his drunken request for a piggyback ride and attacked him without warning.

The court heard the victim had to undergo surgery after the attack on February 28 this year.

He described in a statement to the court how he required an operation and was unable to work after the incident.

Thorpe, of Leasowe Avenue, Hunslet, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.

Probation officer Mick Berry told the court Thorpe had stated in interview that he was deeply ashamed and sorry for what he had done.

He said the father-of-two worked hard to support his children but would lose his job if he was sent immediately to custody.

The court heard Thorpe was also a carer for his mother and that he had not been in trouble since the incident.

Thorpe was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation to his victim.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC said: "On this occasion you were in the city centre and came across a young man minding his own business.

"You were in drink and essentially I accept it was probably no more than a bit of drunken joshing in asking him for a piggyback ride.

"No doubt when faced with someone in drink, he was rather less engaging with you.

"You did not see things rationally.

"You took offence to the fact that he did not engage with you and no doubt you thought he was being offensive.

"Frankly, he was behaving the way 99.9 per cent of the population would behave.

"It is plain that this has had a considerable effect on him.

"He has been unemployed for some time and not surprisingly he now has considerable reservations about going out in public on his own."