A young man who got into a drunken disturbance blamed his behaviour on the fact that he was not used to the kind of night out where there was a free bar.

A father of three who took part in an assault in which a carpenter's hand was cut off with a samurai sword has succeeded in having a quarter of his eight-year sentence suspended on appeal.

A 33-year-old man appeared in court today charged with assault and possession of an offensive weapon, following a sword attack in a suburban pub.