A boxer drunk on strong cider almost killed a man with a single punch during a devastating attack in a pub beer garden.

Mathew Chapman, who had downed 10 pints before arriving at The Fountain in Seabrook, knocked Ross Lindenberg to the ground, causing his skull to crack on a paving slab

The victim, who had tried to intervene in a fight, was airlifted to a specialist London hospital and placed in a medically induced coma ahead of life-saving brain surgery.

Chapman, 33, was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday for the single-punch attack.

Judge Catherine Brown told Chapman he had “ruined [Mr Lindenberg’s] life".

Alluding to his amateur boxing past, she told the father-of-three, he was: “Capable of delivering a precise and forceful blow - you are quite lucky you did not kill Mr Lindenburg.

“I could be sitting here dealing with a classic one-punch manslaughter case.

“This was tragic for Mr Lindenberg and his family.

"You have not only ruined his life but the lives of everyone who cares for him.”

The court heard Chapman began fighting with Mr Lindenberg’s friend by the bar at the pub on the evening of May 27 this year.

The fight spilled into the car park and beer garden, where Mr Lindenberg tried to intervene, CCTV played in court showed.

Chapman then delivered a blow to Mr Lindenberg with such force that he immediately fell backwards, cracking his head on the floor.

He then attempted to land another punch on a man who rushed to Mr Lindenberg's aid as he lay prone.

One witness said: "[Chapman] hit him so hard he knocked him straight out - I heard his head crack on the floor. Ross was out cold.”

Mr Lindenberg was treated at London’s King’s College Hospital for a bleed to the brain, perforated eardrum, fractured skull and broken nose, prosecutor Amelia Norman said.

He underwent treatment in intensive care before being discharged from hospital after 25 days.

Chapman, of Folkestone, was arrested at a nearby bus station on the evening of the assault.

'I feel like I’m the one being punished for the unprovoked attack done to me...'

He gave a no-comment police interview after having watched the CCTV evidence.

He denied grievous bodily harm with intent, which carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of grievous bodily harm at an early opportunity.

Mr Lindenberg continues to suffer more than five months on.

In a victim impact statement, he said he still experiences balance issues, dizziness, pain, anxiety, and fears leaving the house alone.

“I feel like I’m the one being punished for the unprovoked attack done to me," he said.

“This incident may have lasted for seconds but I’m not the person I once was."

Mr Lindenberg told how his injuries have left him unable to work as an electrician, painter and decorator, with his parents forced to care for him.

Representing Chapman, Maggie Biglou said he felt “extreme remorse” for his actions, adding he had not boxed for five years prior to the attack.

She added he suffers mental health difficulties, a traumatic childhood and, in the days leading to the assault, had begun to binge-drink.

Ms Biglou said a mental health report revealed Chapman suffers “mental instability exacerbated by alcohol” and “paranoid personality traits”.

Chapman, who was supported by family in the public gallery, has five relatively old convictions for eight offences, the court heard.

At the age of 17 he was convicted of wounding with intent after using an iron bar to attack someone he believed to have slept with his girlfriend, the court heard.

Chapman, of Kent Road, was also handed a five-year restraining order preventing him from going to the Fountain pub or contacting Mr Lindenberg.