A MAN broke the jaw of a former student when he attacked him in a Burnley pub.

Burnley Crown Court was shown shocking CCTV footage of Jonathan Champkin raining down punches on his victim Simon Palmer in The Turf in September last year.

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The court heard unemployed former ground-worker Champkin became angry at something Mr Palmer said to his girlfriend and because the victim would not acknowledge he had attended the same college as him.

As Mr Palmer went to leave he was followed by Champkin who assaulted him, landing a number of blows, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Francis McEntee said: “The victim is first to raise his hands but the Crown says that is because the defendant comes towards him in an aggressive manner. None of the parties around him can be commended for the speed in which they reacted to this matter.

2Eventually the defendant is pulled away by the landlord. The Crown accepts the complainant threw a punch but we say the defendant threw the first one and the complainant responded.”

Champkin, 33, of Branch Road, Burnley, had initially claimed he had acted in self-defence but pleaded guilty to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Judge Beverley Lunt said: “It is all the defendant’s fault He got up. he followed the victim. The man is on his way out. “The defendant started it and he certainly finished it.”

Defending, Mark Stuart said: “He did over-react. He was concerned about his girlfriend and what had been said to her.”

Champkin who the court heard has previous convictions for assaulting a police officer, disorderly behaviour at football and batter was given conditional bail to return to the same court for sentencing on October 28.