A RECOVERED drug addict from Winsford has been jailed for breaking a glass into a man's face in a bar-room brawl in Middlewich.

Wayne Fryer, 23, of Cavendish Close, Winsford, appeared at Chester Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Darren Raymond Dickinson, who lives in Middlewich.

Prosecuting, Andrew Green told the court that Mr Dickinson, a heroin user, had known the defendant for a number of years but Fryer had become irritated by him for his drug use.

On January 6 Mr Dickinson had taken heroin that morning and drunk a lot of alcohol before heading out to a pub in Middlewich. He had seen Fryer with a 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mr Green said: 'There had been a short discussion which had irritated Fryer. He stood up and swung a punch at Mr Dickinson's shoulder which missed. Mr Dickinson then pushed back. Both men then grabbed each other and fell over onto a couch bench when Fryer picked up a glass in his right hand and thrust it into Mr Dickinson's face.

'When the girl asked why he'd done it, Fryer said: 'Because he was winding me up.'

In a statement to police, the girl said that Fryer had been drunk, slurring his words.

Mr Dickinson's injuries included a deep laceration across his nose, and lacerations to his eyes and eyebrows, which needed a total of 43 stitches.

When arrested, Fryer told police Mr Dickinson had approached him and tried to take his drink. There had been a 'scuffle' and Mr Dickinson had been injured in the fall.

Defending, Andrew Jebb asked the judge to take Mr Fryer's early guilty plea into account, as it had saved the possibility of a 14-year-old girl having to testify at a Crown Court trial.

He added: 'The case when it began was that he broke the glass and thrust it into Mr Dickinson's face.

'But it has been proved that wasn't the case. 'Fryer said that he had been sitting in the pub minding his own business when he was approached by the man who was pestering him. Fryer was trying to keep him away from his drink and he then struck out. He had no intention of causing the injuries.

'But he has to accept that whenever a glass is used there's the possibility of it breaking. He must accept the fact he has caused these injuries.'

Mr Jebb said since his last time in prison, Fryer had been trying to sort his life out, he had been off drugs and was living with his sister in Winsford.

Jailing him for two-and-a-half years, Judge Roger Dutton said Fryer would have to serve 299 days of a previous sentence which was unexpired, and gave him a further 21 months.

He told him: 'With your record of convictions for violence you need to be extremely careful about how you behave in public, because next time you could get a much more substantial period of imprisonment.'