A fitness coach who punched a doorman outside 1886 bar has been fined £750 for common assault.

Dean Lewis Leonard admitted the offence and was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the doorman.

We previously reported that 42-year-old Leonard was in the Regent Street night spot in Douglas on December 17, just before midnight.

He was asked to leave by security staff but refused and had to be restrained.

Once outside, bouncers were also ejecting another man on the ramp, who had become aggressive.

This prompted Leonard to try to intervene, by swinging a punch at one of the doormen and hitting him on the left side of the face.

Leonard was said to have swung a couple more times but those punches didn’t connect with anyone.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain said that the doorman had suffered numbness to the face but no permanent injury.

Leonard, who lives at Harbour Road in Santon, was arrested and taken to police headquarters.

During an interview he told police he was trying to get the bouncer off his friend but denied punching him.

However, Mr Swain said that this was accepted by way of his guilty plea.

The prosecutor asked magistrates to consider compensation and added: ‘This seems to be an occupational hazard for door staff but nobody goes to work to be assaulted.’

Defence advocate Jim Travers handed in letters of reference for his client and asked for credit to be given for the guilty plea, entered he said, after Leonard had viewed the CCTV footage.

‘This is a man who has reached the age of 42 and had no previous convictions,’ said the advocate.

‘We would submit that the character references are exemplary.

‘This was one of those scenarios where Mr Leonard wasn’t the orchestrator of the incident.

‘He was eventually allowed to leave the premises under his own steam, but was escorted down the ramp.

‘As he proceeded beyond the curtilage, at the foot of the ramp, he saw his friend struggling against security staff and in the heat of the moment he must have thought it was heavy-handed.

‘In a split second he reacted and landed a blow.

‘It was a very brief assault and fortunately no injury resulted.’

Mr Travers went on to say that Leonard was a self-employed fitness coach, but he had previously worked in the security industry, so he appreciated the difficulties and was willing to pay compensation.

Magistrates chair Andrea Tabb said that they had taken into consideration Leonard’s lack of previous convictions and his guilty plea.

He was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs and will pay all amounts at a rate of £50 per month.