Drunken thug broke resident's arm in Wakefield city centre as he put his bins out

Charlie James Wellings attacked the man on Wood Street in the middle of the afternoon after accusing him of looking at him.

Prosecutor Joseph Bell told Leeds Crown Court that 21-year-old Wellings had been with a friend walking through Wakefield at around 1.30pm on October 13, 2019, and was swigging a can of lager.

As they walked along Wood Street, the victim had left his flat to move his wheelie bins.

As he began walking back to his flat, he heard Wellings shouting: "What are you looking at?"

The victim said that Wellings squared up to him and their noses were almost touching.

Mr Bell said the victim could see Wellings was intoxicated, so tried to ignore him and walk away.

When Wellings began following him into the building and up the stairs to his flat, the victim told him he was going to ring the police.

Wellings charged at the victim and pushed him with both hands, causing him to fall to the floor and land on his arm.

Wellings and his friend left and an ambulance was called to transport the victim to hospital where it was found his arm was fractured.

He required surgery, needed to have a metal plate inserted and endured months of physiotherapy.

CCTV footage from the city centre was released by police in a bid to trace the attacker, and they eventually arrested Wellings although he initially denied being involved in a confrontation.

Wellings, of Northgate, South Hiendley, later admitted a charge of grievous bodily harm.

The court was told that he has seven previous convictions for 10 offences, although none are for violence.

A probation report said that Wellings accepted responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse.

Mitigating, Christopher Morton said: "It was a nasty injury, but it was a single push and he did not foresee or intend the serious injury that resulted."

He said Wellings, who had grown up in care, had himself been the victim of a serious assault last year in which he was struck by a hammer and stabbed in the back.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC handed him a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months and told him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.