A man who punched a former schoolfriend in the face and chipped his tooth has been told to turn his life around.
Shane Kelk (18), of Princes Street, Sutton Bridge, was handed a 12-month supervision order by Spalding magistrates on Thursday after pleading guilty to assaulting Christopher Howard on July 10.
He was also told to go on thinking skills, general offending and education programmes to improve his chances of employment.
Edward Johnson, prosecuting, said Kelk was in a group of three people who walked up to Mr Howard and his girlfriend while they were sitting on an alleyway wall next to a mobile phone shop in Swan Street, Spalding.
“Kelk walked up to Mr Howard and punched him once, without provocation, in the face causing a chipped tooth,” Mr Johnson said.
“It was reported to police and Mr Howard identified Kelk as he had known him for about eight years from school.”
Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said Kelk had been drinking heavily before the assault and was “extremely ashamed” of his actions.
“It was a completely spontaneous moment on his part which he regrets,” Miss Stevens said.
“Kelk is a young man who was drinking to excess and getting himself into serious trouble.
“But since this incident, there has been something of an awakening and he has made a very firm decision that he needs to sort himself out.”
Presiding magistrate Gillian Wild said: “We’re giving you a chance to turn your life around and it’s worth trying really hard to pull this off.”
Kelk was ordered to pay costs of £100 and £100 compensation.