A FORMER Wordsley soldier described as being "admirable" in the way he has served the country has avoided losing his freedom after he brutally punched a man in a pub.

Daniel Browning, of Bells Lane, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Luke Esser in an attack in the Albion pub which left him with a fractured cheekbone.

The 27-year-old father-of-one was given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years.

He was also placed on Supervision for two years, ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work in the community and to obey a three-month curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

Judge Martin Walsh at Wolverhampton Crown Court told Browning he “behaved in a thoroughly unacceptable way”.

He said Browning confronted his victim who "may have been making a nuisance of himself" and struck him forcibly in the face.

It was a single blow thrown by a "trained military man", stressed Samantha Powis, defending, and afterwards Browning had taken steps to put Mr Esser into the "recovery position."

"The offence was caused by a loss of temper over what he conceived to be a difficult situation," she added.

Miss Powis said Browning's conduct since his early 20s had been "exemplary" and the assault on Mr Esser had been an "aberration."

Stuart Clarkson, prosecuting, said Mr Esser had been drinking heavily with friends and had no recollection of the incident until he woke up in hospital on Boxing Day last year - five days after being punched by Browning.

A witness said Mr Esser had been leaving the public house when he kicked out at a door after spilling his drink.

He was then confronted by Browning who asked, "Did you just kick that door?" before lashing out with a blow that caused him to fall back onto the floor.

Miss Powis said Browning, who now worked in the security industry and had recently come back from working in Iraq, was a man with a "high degree of responsibility and discipline" but he had clearly over-reacted to the situation.