A man admitted his actions “were not cricket” after he battered a father and son outside a pub.

James Morey was barred from Mile Oak Inn, Hove, for two years after he hit Sam and Mike Redmond with a cricket bat following a row.

Hove Crown Court was told how the 24-year-old turned up with the weapon after the Redmonds intervened in argument between Morey and a woman.

Nicholas Hamblin, prosecuting, said Morey, of Brighton Road, Shoreham, hit the two men with the bat and then ran off when police were called.

The pair were left with severe bruising after the incident in February last year.

Lewis Power, defending, said there had been some provocation of Morey, who has a history of depression and an alcohol problem.

He added:”He is remorseful and, if you will pardon the pun, knows that what he did was not cricket.”

Judge Anthony Niblett banned Morey from the Mile Oak Road pub, ordered him to pay £1,000 compensation to Sam Redmond handed him 200 hours of unpaid community work.

He said: “You launched a wholly unjustified attack on two men with a cricket bat.

“These offences are serious and if I were to send you to prison immediately you would have received a sentence in excess of 12 months.”