A “THUG” who punched a supposed love rival so hard that he needed two plates put in his jaw has been jailed for 40 months.

John Mitchison, 30, of Herbert Avenue, Poole, inflicted “dreadful” injuries on former friend Christopher Williams after spotting him walking home alone in the early hours of June 10 last year.

Mitchison had recently split from a girlfriend, but Mr Williams had remained her friend, Recorder Peter Fraser QC said.

He got out of his car and felled Mr Williams with a single blow to the face, before handing himself into the police the following day.

“It had a pretty catastrophic effect,” said Mr Fraser, sentencing.

“The effect was dreadful. Mr Williams’ jaw was fractured in two separate places. He had an operation to insert two plates and 16 screws or pins into his jaw. He is still unable to open his mouth properly and he is unable to chew certain foods.”

Mitchison had pleaded not guilty at Bournemouth Crown Court to a count of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and a two-day trial was held before he was found guilty by a jury.

He claimed he believed the victim was going to attack him, and while trying to open the door of his car to defend himself, punched Mr Williams in the face by accident.

However, the judge called his defence “wholly self-serving and a tissue of lies”, adding: “It would be laughable had the matter not been so serious.”

Rob Griffiths, defending, said: “There is not a significant degree of premeditation, and he was not targeting a vulnerable victim.”

But Mr Fraser said: “Even if, as you said to the jury, Mr Williams had become involved in a relationship with a former girlfriend, that would in no way justify what you did, and your general attitude that he owed you some kind of courtesy is verging on Stone Age thinking given your ex-girlfriend is an adult who is capable of making her own decisions.”