A CHEF with a “seriously violent streak” who hit his friend in the face with a halfpint glass has been given a 15 month jail sentence.

Michael Cox, of Blossomfield Close, Evesham, had gone to a nightclub in the town when he saw a man he had an issue with, Worcester Crown Court was told.

He followed the man and was seen to push him in the back by a friend, Richard Temple-Fry, who was also in the Ambassadors Snooker Club at about 2.45am on February 23 this year, Stephen Davies, prosecuting, told the court. Mr Temple-Fry asked Cox what he was doing and Cox swung a hand holding a half-pint glass at his face, causing minor cuts. The court was told that Cox, who pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm, had previous convictions for violent offences dating back to 2009 and had spent time in custody.

Sabina Pathan, defending, said Cox had been out for a meal for his mother’s birthday earlier that night and had been drinking. He swung his arm without realising he still had the glass in it.

The glass had hit a shelf and had shattered, showering Mr Temple-Fry with shards, but not fully hitting him in the face, she said.

Cox, a qualified chef, had problems with drinking at the time of the offence and had also been on medication to deal with his self-harming.

She said he had not had a drink since his release from custody in September this year following a two-month sentence served for breaching an earlier order.

He was also settled with a partner and their 11-month-old son and was actively looking for work.

“Drink has been a key feature,” she said. “He used to drink to stave off feelings of anxiety.”

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, said Cox had a “seriously violent streak in him” and had a background of using violence thoughtlessly.

He accepted that responsibility for a child was helping to change his life but the use of a glass had to result in a custodial sentence.