A visitor to the island who knocked a man unconscious, causing his victim to suffer a minor bleed to the brain, has been handed a suspended sentence.

Benjamin David Thomas Williams was on a birthday night out when he became involved in an altercation outside the Boots store on Strand Street, Douglas, at 12.40am on Saturday, November 11 last year.

Prosecutor Hazel Caroon said he punched the man twice, causing him to strike the pavement unconscious. Police arrived to find the victim lying in a pool of blood and surrounded by large group of people. He had been placed in the recovery position.

Williams was subsequently arrested at the hotel where he was staying.

The incident was captured on CCTV with the footage shown during sentencing at the Court of General Gaol Delivery on Friday.

Williams, 31, of Llannerch-y-Medd, Anglesey, admitting a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court heard his victim was worse for wear through drink and had been making a nuisance of himself.

‘Why didn’t he just walk away?’ Deemster Graeme Cook asked.

‘If only,’ replied defence advocate Jim Travers. ‘It wasn’t a premeditated act. He had never reacted like this before.

‘This was Mr Williams’s birthday. He wanted to get on with his night. Unfortunately a red mist descended.’

The victim had suffered a 4cm laceration to the back of his head and minor bleeding to the brain. He was kept in hospital for 24 hours for observations. But the court heard he had not wanted to pursue a complaint and had even given a false description of his attacker.

Deemster Cook sentenced Williams to 10 months custody suspended for 12 months with no supervision order.

He told him: ‘Up until November last year you were leading an offending-free life. Now you have a conviction which will remain with you for the rest of your life.’

‘It’s quite clear you acted inappropriately, unlawfully and frankly, you are very lucky that the victim did not suffer more serious damage.’

The Deemster said the courts hear so many times about ‘one-punch manslaughter’ where a victim hits their head on a hard surface and suffers brain damage or death.

‘Back in November you didn’t think of those consequences. You should have simply walked away,’ he told the defendant.

The court heard Williams had visited the Isle of Man five times previously due to his love of motorcycling.

Deemster Cook did not impose an exclusion order banning him from the island, given that this was a one-off offence.

But he ordered him to pay £500 prosecution costs and £500 compensation to the victim, to be paid within 28 days.