A HAMPSHIRE man had to pay more than £5,000 to fix his teeth after he was punched in the face for slapping a drinking pal on the backside.

Keith Phillips knocked out three of Frank Nash’s teeth and fractured his jaw with a single punch after an afternoon of drinking together turned sour.

The pair had been chatting for most of the afternoon at The Bittern pub (below) in Thornhill, Southampton, but things turned nasty when Mr Nash started slapping Phillips on the bottom, having got excited when the defendant offered him a day’s work.

Daily Echo:

Phillips, of Mountain Ash Close, Bitterne, denied inflicting grievous bodily harm but jurors found find him guilty following a trial at Southampton Crown Court.

Prosecutor Roderick Blain told the court that the pair had been drinking together in the pub when Phillips offered a job to Nash, who had been out of work for some time.

Mr Blain said to the jury: “He got excited about this and as bizarre as it may seem ladies and gentlemen, he started to slap the defendant on his backside.

“He said he did this five or six times.”

The court heard that 33-year-old Phillips told Mr Nash not to do that again but he “rather foolishly” slapped his bottom again.

It was after the final slap that Phillips punched Mr Nash, knocking him to the floor.

Mr Nash told the jury he had drunk five or six pints of cider by that time and admitted he did not know why he did it but insisted “it was a laugh and a joke”.

He also denied asking Phillips and his girlfriend if they would like to indulge in a threesome.

Daily Echo:

The pub’s lease holder Lee Cooper and manager Glen McInnes both told the jury that they saw both men shake hands and hug after the incident, which happened in the early evening of October 17, 2013, before Mr Nash left.

As he headed home Mr Nash received a text message from Phillips which said “sorry for hitting you but I did warn you. I can’t apologise enough”.

Mr Nash had to have an operation to fix his fractured jaw and needed extensive dental treatment which cost £5,400.

Mr Nash initially did not report the incident to the police, but made a complaint to officers four months later, in February 2014.

When asked why it took him so long to report it he said: “I have never reported anything to the police before. I was slightly daunted by the whole scenario and what was going to happen.”

After the guilty verdict, Judge Peter Henry adjourned sentencing until the end of the month but told Phillips that he accepted there was “considerable provocation” in the case and said he would not impose an immediate prison term.