A 'PARANOID' man has been spared jail after he used keys as a weapon when he punched a man in the face during a 'nasty attack'.

Nicholas Pettican attacked John Gordon by punching him in the face while holding a set of keys, causing a cut above his eye.

The 32-year-old of Buttercup Walk, Malvern, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily and possession of cannabis when he appeared before magistrates in Worcester on Thursday. The 'paranoid' Malvern man was spared jail despite using keys as a weapon, an attack which could have resulted in 18 months in jail.  

Malvern Gazette: CASE: Worcester Magistrates Court CASE: Worcester Magistrates Court

The attack happened in Malvern on February 19 when Pettican was said to have become 'paranoid' and the assault led to him being hit in response.

Mark Hambling, prosecuting, said Pettican put the keys between his knuckles before he punched the victim in the face, causing a cut above the eye.

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He was later found in possession of cannabis, a class B drug which his solicitor said was for personal use only.

Gerry Vahey, defending, said: "While the key does count as a weapon it is not classed as a highly dangerous weapon."

He argued that the injuries reflected serious harm but not significant harm within the guidelines with a starting point of 36 weeks custody and a range available of a high level community order to 18 months imprisonment. 

"A high level community order would be appropriate. He pleaded guilty straight away and had a night in custody for his sins," he said.

He argued that Pettican had no previous convictions to speak of as an adult but some when he was a youth.

"This is an isolated incident. It is, nevertheless, serious. He knows he could go to prison today," said the solicitor.

He said Pettican accepted the victim 'did nothing wrong' and the defendant suffered 'an episode of paranoia and lashed out in an unjustifiable attack'.

"He got hit in return, quite understandably," said Mr Vahey. 

He added: "He's very sorry for what he has done. He has the support of his sister who sits at the back of court."

The chairman of the bench, Philip Newton, said the bench had read the pre-sentence report before passing sentence. But he added: "Nevertheless, this was a nasty thing to do, a very serious thing to do. "

Magistrates imposed a 12 month community order to include 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and an electronically monitored curfew between 9pm and 7am for the next two months. They also ordered him to pay £150 compensation to the victim.

No order was made for costs or a surcharge.