A former footballer launched an unprovoked attack on a stranger who brushed past him as he celebrated the birth of his baby son in a nightclub.
Clay Bond, who played for Bideford and Dawlish Town, lashed out and left victim Christopher Smith needing a hospital check up for severe facial bruising.
The ex Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United youth player has now been banned from drinking in the clubs and pubs around Torquay's harbourside after being spared jail for the assault.
He was already subject to a suspended sentence for an earlier attack in which he and his father beat up an innocent passer-by after falsely accusing him of stealing a bicycle.
Bond, aged 26, of Grange Road, Torquay, admitted assault by beating and being in breach of an eight month suspended sentence.
He was jailed for four months, suspended for two years, fined £100, curfewed for six months, and banned from drinking in the centre of Torquay for two years by Recorder Mr Simon Levene at Exeter Crown Court.
The recorder told him:"You pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and I accept you are genuinely ashamed and apologetic and have voluntarily compensated the victim.
"However, you did commit this offence while subject to a suspended sentence and it shows a lack of self control.
"I appreciate you have a young child and this was said to be your first outing after the baby was born. It does not say a great deal for the sobering effects of parenthood."
Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said Bond was out with his partner at the Attic Club in Torquay on August 3 when Mr Smith brushed past them on the stairs and smiled at his girlfriend.
Bond punched him in the face and hit him again after they went to the ground leaving Mr Smith with blood pouring from his nose, which was swollen but not broken.
She said he told police he was disgusted with himself when he saw the CCTV footage from the club. He paid compensation and admitted the offence even when the victim withdrew his complaint.
Mr Ben Darby, defending, said Bond now runs his own business as well as being an amateur football coach.
He said his offending derived from problems with drinking which he is addressing. He has recently become a father and has already paid £500 compensation to the victim because he is so sorry for what he did.
Bond was a teenaged starlet who was linked with a move to Chelsea when he was just 16 but instead slipped down the leagues after being on the books at Plymouth and Torquay.
He played for Bideford, Dawlish Town, Culm United but has recently been playing or coaching at local clubs in Torbay.
