A SUFFOLK man has narrowly escaped prison after breaking his friend's arm in a drunken brawl.Nicholas Brown pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Andrew Martin in Haverhill town centre on June 2.

A SUFFOLK man has narrowly escaped prison after breaking his friend's arm in a drunken brawl.

Nicholas Brown pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Andrew Martin in Haverhill town centre on June 2.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Brown had been drunk when he and Mark Passmoor walked past Mr Martin, 24, who Brown had known since school.

Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Brown said "Hello" to Mr Martin and became angry when the greeting was not returned.

Brown, 25, of Lower Road, Hundon, Haverhill, gave his mobile phone to Mr Passmoor and followed Mr Martin into Quakers Lane.

The court heard that Brown hit Mr Martin twice on the back of his head and punched him in the face, giving him a black eye. He then lifted Mr Martin's leg, forcing him to fall over, breaking his arm so severely it broke the skin.

Mr Gair said Brown stopped fighting and tried to stem the flow of blood by administering first aid. He then took Mr Martin to a servicemen's club and called for an ambulance.

Mr Recorder Neil Garnham, QC, was told that Brown had a criminal record for dishonesty, being drunk and disorderly and for common assault on his partner, offences which date back four years, coinciding with Brown being discharged from the army on medical grounds.

The court heard that Brown, who is married and has two young children, was employed as a builder and now works for a travel company.

Mr Garnham said unlawful wounding was a serious offence and usually custody would be the correct punishment. He said: "You need to know just how close you have come to a prison sentence, but you have shown genuine remorse and decency to the victim on the night in question."

He told Brown to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and issued a curfew order restricting him to his house between 7pm and 6am for the next six months.

Although Brown said he had stopped drinking, electronic tagging equipment was to be installed in his home to ensure he was not out drinking at night.

Brown was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to Mr Martin and £85 towards court costs.