An aspiring model has been jailed after he viciously kicked a man in the head as he lay helpless on the ground.

Karim Abdullai had been knocked unconscious by another man in Maidstone town centre when drunk Jordan Heffernan put the boot in.

The punch by the other man left the victim in need of dental work costing up to £8,000 - a sum he could not afford, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

Heffernan, 22, was originally jointly charged with grievous bodily harm, but it was dropped against the other man as it was decided he acted in self-defence.

Heffernan’s guilty plea to an alternative charge of assault causing actual bodily harm was accepted.

Mr Abdullai had just left Bar Chocolate and was walking towards the High Street when he became involved in an altercation at 5am on August 21 last year.

CCTV footage played to a judge showed the victim being felled and Heffernan, of Upper Fant Road, Maidstone, immediately kicking him.

He was taken to hospital and found to have soft tissue damage to his mouth. He was given painkillers and discharged.

But a week later his dentist saw that he had fractures to his top teeth and swollen gums.

“He was not able to open his jaw very wide,” said prosecutor Matthew Turner.

“The estimate for dental work recommended was £6-8,000.

“He didn’t have the money to pay for the full amount of dental work and had to borrow it.

“He describes suffering depression and anxiety. He is paranoid and scared if he goes out at night, which he now rarely does. He had to take time off work because of stress.”

Eminjeet Kandola, defending, said: “What happened here was horrific. He doesn’t know why he attacked him.”

Heffernan, who has previous convictions for actual bodily harm and battery, had a promising modelling career which took him around the country. He had just returned from a photo shoot in Spain.

Miss Kandola said he had also started a construction business with his father. The offence had shocked and overwhelmed him.

“He has stopped drinking,” she said.

“He has moved out of the area. He is a carer for his mother, who is wheelchair-bound.

“His girlfriend is also a model. It is something he is seriously pursuing.”

Judge Philip Statman said: “Let’s be frank about it, It’s 5am in a reasonably crowded High Street.

“People have, no doubt, been drinking. The victim goes to the floor and your client kicks him once to the head with a shod foot.

“That is completely outrageous conduct in a public place.”

Jailing Heffernan for eight months, the judge said: “It must be made abundantly clear that anyone who kicks another member of the community while they are on the ground will go to prison.”

He said of the victim: “He can be seen on CCTV flat out. He was going nowhere. He posed no threat to anyone.

“In that position you kicked him in the head with a shod foot. He lost consciousness.”

The judge said medical experts could not confirm it was the kick that caused the injuries, and it was more likely to be the punch.

For “whatever reason”, he added, the Crown did not proceed against the other man.