A man has been jailed for a year after punching a man and kicking him in the head while he was on the ground.

Ryan Lee Daly, 23, from Cronkbourne village, Tromode, was sentenced in the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Friday.

The court heard that on February 12, Daly got into a dispute with a man over a taxi outside Oscar’s bar in Victoria Street, Douglas.

Following this argument, Daly punched the man and kicked his head while he was on the floor.

The court heard that a nearby security officer described the attack like Daly ‘kicked a rugby ball, full on’.

Police were called and Daly was then arrested on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm and was questioned by police, he admitted to punching the victim, however couldn’t remember kicking him, saying he was ‘quite drunk’.

Daly also told police that it was ‘a night gone wrong’.

The court heard that Daly asked for an update on the condition of the victim, as he was concerned about his welfare.

The victim’s jaw was fractured in three places and had to be wired shut for four weeks due to the wound becoming infected.

In a statement read out by the prosecuting advocate, Roger Kane, the victim told the court: ‘I was struggling to eat due to the pain in my jaw.

‘Having taken one day off work in the last 20 years, I had to take a full week off.’

Daly’s defence advocate, Stephen Wood, labelled his client’s behaviour as ‘abhorrent’ and said: ‘It is completely inexplicable as to why my client would act like this.’

Mr Wood also told the court that Mr Daly had saved up £500 for the victim as compensation, with Wood adding, ‘that shows the nature of this man’.

Deemster Graeme Cook said: ‘When drink is involved with taxis, violence is involved.

‘Where I used to live in the UK, the police used to marshal the taxi rank.

‘Thuggery takes place when drink is had and taxis need to be obtained.’

Deemster Cook said Daly’s kick was ‘vicious’ and said: ‘People who go out on a social evening in the Isle of Man should not encounter thuggery.’

He then sentenced Daly to 12 months in custody.