A thug who punched a man in an unprovoked attack outside a nightclub in Sittingbourne High Street has been jailed.

Jack Friend hit his 20-year-old victim with such force in the assault on June 13 last year, he left him needing metal plates inserted into his jaw.

The incident happened after Friend, of Cherry Close, Sittingbourne, approached the victim who was standing with a group of friends outside Life nightclub at around 3am.

Friend, 20, asked him if he had been calling his name, to which the victim replied he did not know him and had not said anything to him.

Friend then launched the vicious assault, punching him and fracturing his jaw.

He then turned to the clubber’s friend and hit him in the face too.

Police officers examined CCTV and identified Friend as a suspect.

When he was questioned he claimed he had acted in self-defence despite footage showing the unprovoked nature of the attack.

Investigating officer PC Grant Broad said: “The two victims had been on a night out in town with their friends and were talking with some girls outside a club when Friend targeted them.

“This type of incident is despicable and Friend is now in the best place possible for those who seek to cause violence on our streets: in prison" - PC Grant Broad

“He was clearly picking a fight and had several of his friends with him, with the intention of intimidating the victims. He claimed they had called him a name, which they clearly did not, using that as an excuse to punch them.

“One victim was left with two metal plates in his jaw that is likely to take a considerable time to heal.

“This type of incident is despicable and Friend is now in the best place possible for those who seek to cause violence on our streets: in prison.”

Friend pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and assault.

He was sentenced to 14 months for the GBH and two months for the assault charge with both sentences to run concurrently.