A MAN who left a teenage girl with a smashed nose, black eye and bust lip after intervening in a fight is behind bars for two years.

Burnley Crown Court heard how James Norwood, 23, took a running kick at the victim's face and punched her after wrongly assuming she was attacking the other girl.

Norwood, who had come out of jail six months earlier, was warned by a judge he had a bad record for violence and if he struck again he might be considered a danger to society and get an indeterminate sentence.

Judge Beverley Lunt continued: "There is never any excuse for a man to hit a woman.

"The idea of kicking a women in the face is just beyond the pale and you know it.

"You are very fortunate indeed that the injuries weren't significantly worse."

Norwood, of Venice Avenue, Burnley, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

He was given 18 months, to be served after the six months unexpired portion of his last sentence.

Charles Brown, prosecuting, said last July a fight broke out between two girls and went on for 10 minutes.

The defendant then came on the scene, approached the victim, punched her and delivered a running kick to her face.

The two girls were now friends and both had been the victims of violence at Norwoood's hands.

The victim suffered a broken nose, black eye and possibly a bust lip.

Richard Butcher, defending, said Norwood got a panic call from the other girl who feared she was going to be assaulted.

He got on his bicycle and went to the scene where both girls were on the floor.

There was what looked like an angry mob of people surrounding them and nobody was doing anything to stop it.

The barrister went on: "He knows he should never have lost his temper in the way that he did.

"And even he lost his temper he should never have kicked the complainant, especially in the face, risking serious injury."