ASSAULTING a man and breaking his teeth on the way out of Fairweather Festival in Sandown, resulted in prison time for the attacker.

Connor Fogarty, 27, of Mitchell's Road, Ryde, denied a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but was found guilty by a jury following a trial in the Isle of Wight Crown Court.

He was jailed for two and a half years.

Fogarty had been in an altercation with a woman at the festival earlier on the day in question, September 2, 2017, which may have led to the incident, the court heard.

As crowds were leaving the festival site, Fogarty went up to Stephen Smith, an emergency vehicle operative, and started 'laying into him with a flurry of very hard punches', Judge Roger Hetherington said during sentencing.

One was so hard, it dislodged two of Mr Smith's teeth, the court heard.

"He wasn't even defending himself or offering you any violence," Judge Hetherington said.

Fogarty had to go to hospital himself because of wounds to his fists sustained during the beating. This, in part, helped to bring him to justice.

The judge considered previous convictions of Fogarty, which included a past actual bodily harm offence, as well as possession of a weapon and knife in a public place.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Smith said he had suffered much pain and difficulty eating and drinking, and said that his young daughter could not look at him after the injuries.

He also faced a £5,000 dentist bill because of the assault.

For Fogarty, Helen Easterbrook said this assault was not the sum total of her client's character and pointed to examples of selfless behaviour, such as helping out his family and elderly neighbours.

However, the judge said: "I accept that in other parts of your life you are capable of helping people, but this does not go to minimise the significance of this offence."