AN amateur boxer who knocked out an innocent man outside a pub told police he had drunk 52 cans of strong lager before the attack.

Andrew Mark Wood, 27, has been jailed for a year for the alcohol-fuelled assault, which happened when the victim tried to pull his partner away from a fight.

Bystanders heard a bang as victim Nicholas Lyons-Gaddas’s head hit a concrete floor immediately after Andrew Mark Wood punched him in the face outside The Queen pub in Tadcaster on October 8, York Crown Court heard.

Helen Wheatley, prosecuting, said Wood told police he had drunk 52 cans of Stella Artois that day and could barely stand up. She said he told officers that if anyone had “started mouthing off at him”, he would “bang them” and said it didn’t matter who they were, whether or not they were police officers.

Witnesses said Wood could clearly see Mr Lyons-Gaddas was unconscious and he was not bothered, said Ms Wheatley.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst told Wood: “You have the potential for causing really very serious harm to people when you have been drinking heavily.”

Wood has a 12-year history of antisocial behaviour, drunkenness and public disorder including more than 50 convictions. He trained as a boxer and knew he had a hard punch, the court heard.

Wood, of Tadcaster, pleaded guilty to wounding and was bailed to a Rotherham address. Fifty-two cans of lager is more than five times the UK medically recommended weekly limit for a man.

Ms Wheatley told the court Mr Lyons-Gaddas had been enjoying an evening out with his partner when Wood started fighting with another man nearby. The woman tried to break it up and Wood insulted her, Ms Wheatley said.

Mr Lyons-Gaddas tried to pull his partner away and Wood hit him hard in the face. He suffered a two-inch cut on the top of his head and needed 11 stitches.

For Wood, Katherine Robinson said he had still been under the influence of alcohol when he spoke to police and was now remorseful. He was unemployed and drank to fill his empty hours, but was tackling his alcohol problem and trying to get work.