A NIGHTCLUBBER who hurled a pint glass across a dancefloor, hitting another customer and causing an inch-long gash in his head has been reprimanded by magistrates.

A NIGHTCLUBBER who hurled a pint glass across a dancefloor, hitting another customer and causing an inch-long gash in his head has been reprimanded by magistrates.

Jason Pritchard, 19, lashed out after he was pushed into a table by a nightclubber who questioned his sexual orientation but hit another unsuspecting patron with the glass.

Pritchard, of Alabaster Close, Hadleigh, admitted a charge of assault when he appeared at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The court heard that he was on a night out with friends in Pals nightclub in Dog's Head Street on April 6 when he got into a scuffle with another dancer who felt Pritchard had got too close to him.

Pritchard, who had drunk two pints on the night, was punched and pushed into a table.

Nikki Miller, representing Pritchard, said: “As an instinctive reaction he picked a glass up from the table he had fallen into and threw it toward that male.

“He actually never intended to hit anybody with the glass.

“Mr Pritchard is very sorry for his actions. He certainly didn't mean the gentleman who was hit by the glass any harm at all.

“He realises he was very silly.”

The glass hit patron Gavin Turner, causing a cut to the top of his head which required hospital treatment.

Pritchard, who lives with his mother, had been an employee at Pals but was not working on the night he threw the glass.

The court heard that once staff became aware of what happened Pritchard was advised he would no longer be able to work there and he subsequently resigned. He is now unemployed.

The magistrates gave Pritchard an 18-month conditional discharge but told him he would face a tougher sentence for the assault if he was convicted of another offence during that time.

They also ordered him to pay £50 compensation to Mr Turner and £35 in court costs.