Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Shane Smith, 20, held Kapo Lee from the Sea View restaurant in Weymouth’s Pier Bandstand in a headlock while Mark Webb, also 20, hit and assaulted him, recorder Lorraine Morgan said.

Smith, formerly of Woolcombe Road, Portland, and Webb, of Rip Croft, Portland, were due to appear for trial when they decided to admit a charge of racially-aggravated assault by beating.

Recorder Morgan sentenced Smith to eight months in a young offender institution after hearing that he was previously found guilty of two racially-aggravated offences.

Before sentencing she told Smith she was giving him ‘some credit’ for his guilty plea but not as much as if he had pleaded guilty earlier.

She said witnesses who were waiting to give evidence still had the anxiety of coming to court.

She told Smith: “I sentence you on the basis that you became embroiled in the incident that was taking place with your friend but in becoming embroiled, you aggravated the situation.

“You held the complainant in a headlock and you did not release him. And whilst in that headlock, your friend who you were out with that night, was able to further hit and assault the complainant.”

Prosecuting, Peter Asteris said Smith has committed a number of offences of disorderly behaviour since April, 2006 and listed three further offences of battery the following year.

And he said in July, 2007, Smith received a conditional discharge when he was found guilty of using racially threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour.

Then, in September, 2008, he received a six-week custodial sentence for causing racially-aggravated alarm or distress.

In mitigation, James Porter said Smith had been ‘a model pupil’ until he was 16 and had received a police commendation for rescuing a boy from being knocked down by a car. But when he was still 16 his baby brother died in his arms while he was a few days old in hospital.

Mr Porter said from then his anger got him into ‘all sorts of bother’.

But Smith now has a new sibling and has been granted access to his own child, the court heard.

Mr Porter said Smith is ‘now more positive, energetic and committed to taking up his responsibilities as a brother and a father’.

Recorder Morgan said the offence on March 6 this year put Smith in breach of a separate conditional discharge for criminal damage.

She took no action and left it to run. The court also heard that Smith breached bail conditions he was on bail for the new offence when he was found intoxicated in a public place and his bail was withdrawn.

Recorder Morgan said 127 days spent on remand will therefore be taken into account as well as days spent with an electronic tag.

Webb admitted a second charge of criminal damage and will return to court for sentencing for both offences on October 9 after pre-sentence reports are made.