AN Ellesmere Port man guilty of assault had mistaken his victim for someone he knew.

Anthony Carl Woodward, 28, of Viva Way, had admitted attacking the male victim outside the Tesco Express store on June 28, but Howard Jones, defending him at Chester Magistrates Court on Thursday, August 22, said Woodward thought he was meeting a friend.

Woodward had given a dig into the victim's ribs in "rather loutish behaviour," Mr Jones said, before realising his mistake and before he could help, the victim's girlfriend told him to go away.

The court heard Woodward had been involved earlier that day in an incident on Dale Drive, Great Sutton, and while there were differing accounts of what was accepted by prosecution and defence, Woodward had pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour.

Prosecuting, Rob Youds told the court there had been a conversation between Woodward and his victim about a cigarette before Woodward punched the man in the abdomen.

Woodward's guilty plea for the assault was on the basis he thought he knew the victim and was "playing around".

Woodward had 26 previous convictions for 47 offences, most for theft and dishonesty, and this offence had happened while he was subject to a court order, a 24-week curfew imposed for when Woodward had threatened to "blow the owner's head off" in a fight at Madisons Café Bar in May.

It was proposed to change the curfew requirement as Woodward had changed address since the offence.

Mr Jones added Woodward regretted the incident and wished to apologise to his victim.

Magistrates imposed a 24-month community order on Woodward with 60 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 80 hours unpaid work.

He must pay £50 compensation to his assault victim and £85 court costs.

For the threatening behaviour charge, a 12-month restraining order was imposed excluding Woodward from a named Dale Drive property.