A MAN who kicked out at his friend while he lay on the floor during a drunken fight has been sentenced at Dorchester Crown Court.

Donald Andrew Chambers, 18, received a community order after admitting assaulting Sam Frost on a night out in Weymouth.

Desmond Duffy, prosecuting, said the pair got into a fight in New Street early on February 20.

Witnesses saw the two men grappling with each other and Mr Frost fell to the floor.

Mr Duffy said Chambers administered ‘three stamps or kicks’.

Chambers was arrested and Mr Frost was taken to hospital but discharged himself.

Mr Duffy said: “He declined to make a statement and has not made once since in support of these proceedings.”

David Lyons, mitigating, said the two men were friends whose drunken antics had got out of hand.

He said: “The idea that forceful horseplay between two friends should result in a young man going into custody is one many right minded members of the community would see as a gross overreaction.”

Judge Roger Jarvis gave Chambers a 12-month community order with requirements to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and to attend an employment, training and education programme.

Judge Jarvis disagreed the incident had been ‘horseplay’.