ONLY good fortune saved a man from drunkenly battering another to death in a Torbay street fight, Exeter Crown Court has heard.

James Turner, 24, of Torbay Road, Paignton, was jailed for eight months at Exeter Crown Court after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Turner, who has a history of violence, attacked Christian Babbage in an incident outside Pappa's takeaway in Torbay Road in the town, leaving the victim needing surgery on his nose.

Judge Stephen Wildblood QC told Turner: "The violence you perpetrated could have led to death or serious injury and it was pure good fortune that it didn't.

"The assault was prolonged, vicious and extremely serious. It began with you head-butting Mr Babbage with full force. You then forced him across the street and there was a brief tussle with you pushing him to the ground.

"You then punched him at least five times with full force. You punched and pinned him to the ground."

The judge said CCTV footage then showed a woman and a man trying to break up the fight.

"The violence erupted again," he said. "You burst through the group towards Mr Babbage, who then strikes you, you then hit him and force him to the ground… you punched him to the ground with full force, to the head about 11 times."

Prosecutor Alexander Allsop played CCTV footage of the attack, which happened on Saturday, July 11, last year.

He said that Mr Babbage was arguing with a woman and Turner intervened, accusing him of trying to hit her.

The court heard Mr Babbage could not remember hitting the woman but accepted he was verbally abusive to her.

CCTV showed the fight unfolding, with Turner dressed in a white T-shirt and dark jeans, straddling his victim and punching him.

A man in a yellow T-shirt and a woman with dark, long hair, then tried to stand between them, keeping them apart, but violence continued.

The prosecutor said: "The incident largely speaks for itself. Although Mr Babbage may have given reason for the defendant confronting him and not have helped the situation, these actions of the Mr Turner are grossly disproportionate."

The victim needed surgery under general anaesthetic for a displaced fracture of the nose.

He said, in a statement: "I no longer feel confident about going out. All that is binned… my face just feels very fragile."

Two years earlier Mr Babbage was awarded a bravery honour for dragging a disabled man out of his blazing bungalow in Galmpton.

Turner has two previous convictions, for an assault outside a nightclub in 2007 and actual bodily harm in 2005. He was given a caution for assault last year.

Defence counsel Kevin Hopper said Turner was a hard-working family man.

"He expressed horror at his own actions," said Mr Hopper.

He added that Turner's criminal record involved resorting to violence after becoming involved in arguments once they started, rather than starting the disputes himself.

Mr Hopper said "He seems to find himself in situations where events happen not involving himself but they soon do."

Judge Wildblood said he had given the defendant credit for his guilty plea and remorse. He did not make an order for compensation.

Christian Babbage said afterwards that he felt eight months' jail for his attacker was 'a long time'.

But he stressed he could not remember the detail of exactly what happened. He was keen to put the matter behind him.

He has joined the army and is stationed at Bovington Camp, near Yeovil, where he is training on tanks.He is expecting a call-up for a tour of duty in Afghanistan.