A BINGE-drinking Clevedon man repeatedly punched a ‘scared’ 17-year-old in the face during an unprovoked attack, a court heard.

Tim Mason, of Greenway Park, appeared at North Somerset Courthouse in St Georges on Thursday charged with assault by beating and criminal damage.

The 20-year-old, who pleaded guilty, launched an attack on Waqaar Latif on December 10 last year at a sheltered housing complex in Kennaway Road, Clevedon.

The court heard how Waqaar had been in his room at about 10.30pm when he heard shouting and arguing in the hallway.

He went to the door and let a girl in, who he knew to be a girlfriend of one of the residents, and said she and a friend had been rowing with two men outside.

In a statement read by Michael Collins, prosecuting, Mr Latif said: “Tim Mason came to the doorway and was shouting.

“He was just a couple of feet away from me but he was screaming ‘shut the door’ over and over again.

“I went to shut the door as I was very scared but he came through the door and punched me with his fist to the side of my head and continued to punch me, knocking my glasses off my face and the hearing aid in my right ear was knocked out.

“I was very scared while I was being attacked and I wanted my family as I have only moved away from them recently.”

A Weston College student, Mr Latif suffered a black eye and redness and swelling to his head and face.

Judith Mills, defending, said Mason was remorseful and needed support and had since enrolled in a charity project with the YMCA.

Ms Mills said: “Mr Mason has absolutely no recollection of what happened and it wasn’t until he woke up in police cells that he was told what had happened.

“He’s not drinking so much any more. He’s a binge drinker so when he starts he doesn’t stop but he has now cut down.”

Magistrate Nick Green gave Mason a suspended sentence of 12 weeks for one year. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, pay �150 for the criminal damage, �85 court costs and �250 to the victim.