A BARE-CHESTED yob who shattered the jaw of a good Samaritan with a single punch has been jailed.

Jamie Benham, 22, was drunk after downing between 10 and 15 pints of beer at the races when he attacked Stephen Allen in an unprovoked assault in Salisbury city centre last July.

The single blow broke Mr Allen's jaw in two places and surgeons used a metal plate to repair the damage.

Benham, of Pullman Drive, Salisbury, had previously punched another, unknown man in the face but the victim had left the scene without reporting the assault.

Salisbury Crown Court heard on Friday that Benham had been arguing with his wife in Catherine Street in the early hours of July 24.

He became aggressive and appeared to be assaulting his wife, dragging her to the floor, the court heard.

Concerned bystanders, including bouncers from the nearby Music Box nightclub, came to intervene and Benham became "extremely aggressive", swearing and shouting for people to stay away from his wife.

He then ripped off his shirt, wrapped it around his fist and punched the unknown victim in the face, shouting "what the f*** are you looking at? Come on then, I'll knock you out."

Mr Allen, described as a completely innocent bystander and a pacifist, spoke to Benham's wife to see if she was alright as she sat in the street.

Benham then approached him, saying "Who the f*** are you? What are you doing?".

Mr Allen replied: "I'm not your enemy. I'm nothing to do with it."

But Benham threw a single punch that knocked Mr Allen to the ground and fractured his jaw in two places, causing him "the most pain he had ever felt in his life," the court heard.

The court heard the injury had had a massive impact on Mr Allen's life, and he had lost the feeling in part of his lip.

One witness described the noise of the punch as "like a very loud crack that echoed off nearby buildings".

Benham then said to his wife: "Now look what you have made me do. I'm going to get locked up."

Prosecutor Frank Abbott said the attack was "utterly gratuitous", with no provocation, and that Benham was "considerably under the influence" having drunk "ten pints, if not 15".

He said Mr Allen had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time" and was "very nastily injured".

Defending, Nicholas Cotter said although it was "atrocious" and "disgraceful" behaviour, it was not a repeated attack.

Benham did not normally drink, had no previous convictions, and was remorseful, he added.

Sentencing Benham to a total of 12 months in prison, judge Richard Parkes said: "It must have been very frightening for anybody who was in reach of you.

"This sort of violent, aggressive, offending on passers-by in the streets of Salisbury is always going to be met with an immediate sentence of imprisonment."

Benham had previously admitted battery and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He denied common assault against his wife and the charge will lie on file.