A trainee footballer repeatedly struck a man over the head with a beer bottle during a fracas outside a Dartford wine bar.

Trouble flared after Tyeler Norbert's friends were ejected from Crush, in Spital Street, in the early hours of January 5.

They started fighting with another group of men, during which Vincent Mayne was hit four times to the back of his head by Norbert.

Fortunately, the Budweiser bottle did not smash and Mr Mayne did not require hospital treatment for the bruising and swelling he suffered.

Norbert, 21, of St Nicholas Road, Woolwich, denied affray but admitted common assault on Mr Mayne and a second man - Alex Palmer - when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court.

The court heard Norbert was a soon-to-be Colchester United apprentice, but the club later denied this.

"You used a weapon, a bottle, and you used it several times to the head... you are very fortunate, as indeed is the victim, that there wasn’t a more serious consequence..." - Judge Martin Joy

Imposing a two-month jail term - suspended for a year - and ordering Norbert to carry out 100 hours' unpaid work, Judge Martin Joy said it was "a matter of chance" whether his actions caused very serious or minor injuries.

"You used a weapon, a bottle, and you used it several times to the head... you are very fortunate, as indeed is the victim, that there wasn’t a more serious consequence."

Prosecutor Keith Yardy said Mr Mayne was grabbed by his hair by one man, kneed in the face by another and then struck by Norbert.

He managed to break free and ran back to the bar to alert security and call police.

Mr Palmer was also struck once with the same bottle to the back of the head by Norbert.

The court heard he was arrested nearby, having discarded the bottle, but told police he was "just having a wee".

He claimed he had no intention of fighting outside the bar and had himself been punched.

"He was angry because the other group got members of his group thrown out and their night had effectively ended early," said Mr Yardy.

No one else was charged over the incident.

The court heard Norbert has also had footballing connections with Oxford United and is due to start with League One team Colchester in September.

The charge of affray was left on the court file.

A Colchester United spokesman said: "Tyeler Norbert is not a name that Colchester United have come across and contrary to reports, there are no plans for him to be joining the football club."