Mathew Tame, 37, of Vauvert, St Peter Port, admitted assaulting an unknown male at the North Plantation in an incident that was captured on CCTV.
The court was told how the victim and his girlfriend were leaving Folies nightclub shortly before 1am when one of them connected with the defendant’s left shoulder as they passed him.
Tame grabbed the man by the left side of his neck which resulted in the victim pushing him backwards.
Tame then punched the man in the face which caused him to fall to the ground where he stayed for some time. The victim chose not to make a complaint.
Police were quickly on the scene. Tame told them that the victim had ‘pushed my burger out of my hand so I banged him sound’.
He had other alcohol-related matters on his record, though nothing in Guernsey.
Defending, Advocate Oliver Fattorini said his client had made a mistake that arose from his alcohol intake and he was very remorseful for what he had done. He was a hard worker in the building industry who had got a lot from his time in the island.
Judge Marc Davies said the CCTV had not been pleasant to view and he could see that the defendant had been clearly ashamed when watching it.
‘Everything I read about you paints a different picture of the man who punched an innocent party in the street,’ he said.
It was only by luck that the man had not been hurt and this had been ‘a dangerous thing to do’.
As the defendant had got a lot from Guernsey he could now give something back, said the judge, ordering Tame to complete 90 hours of community service as a direct alternative to three months in prison.