A MAN who smashed a fellow clubber over the head with a bottle in a Lancaster pub has been put behind bars for six months.

A judge rejected a plea that Gordon Hodgson was an ideal candidate for 'intermittent custody' - weekend prison.

The 27-year-old, of Fleet Green, Lancaster, pleaded guilty to wounding Jonathan Taylor-Heys at Brooks International on May 3.

Judge Peter Smith found that there had been no provocation from the victim, who needed stitches inside the mouth and had broken skin above one eye as a result of a blow.

Hodgson was said to have hit out several times while holding a bottle that did not break.

Mr Taylor-Heys was left with a semi-permanent lump to the inside of his lip.

The judge said the reason behind the assault was the defendant's displeasure at seeing his ex-girlfriend out with another man.

Hodgson had no previous convictions.

Defence barrister Keith Thomas said Hodgson appreciated the peril in which he stood for sentencing.

He told the court: "An immediate custodial sentence, while it may be justified on the face of it, would have draconian consequences in the long term."

The defendant had a plastering job to go to and Mr Thomas asked that intermittent custody be imposed.

"This is, in many ways, an ideal case for such a custody order," he said.

"The defendant has a prospect of a New Year, a new start and a new job. It is in the general public interest that this man be in a position to make recompense.

"He would forfeit his weekends for a considerable period of time."

In passing sentence, Judge Smith said it was fortuitous and merciful that the bottle had not broken upon impact.

"Those who assault others with bottles on license premises send themselves to prison."