A MAN from Deeside who confronted a neighbour after he kissed his girlfriend ended up with a broken eye socket.

Jamie Dobson was punched, kicked and stamped on by Steven Whitehead after catching Whitehead stealing a kiss off his partner Danielle Smith in the flat they shared.

But Whitehead escaped a prison sentence after his victim was unable to recall whether his serious injuries, including a broken nose, were caused deliberately.

Whitehead, 37, of Maes Helyg, Garden City, initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm on Mr Dobson on July 22 last year, but after a Mold Crown Court jury heard the victim’s evidence he admitted an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Niclas Parry ordered Whitehead to pay £500 compensation to his victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

He told him: “I’m not going to send you to prison and you can thank Jamie Dobson for that for being so fair and reasonable.

“This is a case of two men having too much to drink and you acted out of character.

“There was an element of provocation in that your victim also consumed too much alcohol and you were not responsible for the eye injury.”

The court heard Mr Dobson invited Whitehead into the flat at Garden City for a drink in the early hours but matters took a grim turn after he went to remonstrate with him over his amorous advances.

Prosecuting counsel Brett Williamson outlined how after going outside for a cigarette Mr Dobson caught sight of his girlfriend and Whitehead kissing through a window.

When he went up to Whitehead’s flat for an explanation he was set upon and his face was punched.

He tried to defend himself, but the punches rained in on him, knocking him to the floor where he was again punched and kicked.

When his girlfriend arrived on the scene she heard Whitehead shouting “Get up”, but her partner was on the floor and Mr Williamson added: “She said it appeared he was either too drunk or too defeated to fight back and she shouted for the defendant to stop.

“Later when she returned to the flat she found the pair drinking together.

“The defendant was trying to mitigate what he had done and trying to be pally.”

Mr Williamson added: “The prime issue is the level of violence used.

“It was way beyond self-defence as he stamped and kicked on Mr Dobson while he was on the ground.”

Mr Dobson told the court he had suffered from double vision after the attack, but he chose not to have corrective surgery so he could get back to work quickly, although he still lost his driving licence as a result of his problems.