A DRUNKEN soldier accused a man outside a pub of being "a geek" and fractured his cheekbone with a punch in the face.

James Ife had earlier been ejected from the George Hotel in Bewdley for exposing himself.

Ife, on leave after spending seven months in Afghanistan, attacked Richard Insull in Load Street on June 5 last year.

But since the violence he had gone absent without leave from the Army to look after 11 of his siblings, defence counsel Abigail Nixon told Worcester Crown Court. His mother was in hospital going through a difficult 14th pregnancy.

Miss Nixon argued that Ife should not be jailed because of the family burdens he was shouldering.

Recorder Martin Butterworth said he would need independent evidence to confirm Ife's position.

The Army would also have to confirm whether even a suspended sentence would lead to a discharge from the 2nd battalion, Mercian regiment.

The recorder adjourned the case until the week beginning March 8 and granted Ife bail.

But he warned that a custodial sentence was still the likely outcome.

Ife, 20, of Garland Road, Stourport, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.

Mr Insull was with his girlfriend, Kerry Walker, at 11.15pm, when he heard Ife say "you look like a geek - I'm going to smash your face in", said Peter Parson, prosecuting.

The blow caused an injury which needed a steel plate to realign the bones in the victim's cheek.

He suffered nerve damage to his face and the right side of his cheek was now disfigured.

Ife told police he was "smashed" on alcohol and thought he heard a comment before he "flew off the handle".

In 2006 he got a police caution for assaulting a man in a park, causing minor injuries.

Miss Nixon said Ife could not recall a comment about "a geek" but did not dispute the victim's evidence. "Exposing himself in public indicated how drunk he was," she said.

During his tour of duty, five of his colleagues had been killed, including a close friend.

Ife spent two weeks in hospital with a fractured kneecap and was saying goodbye to friends in the pub before being sent back to Afghanistan.

Miss Nixon said after returning to the army, Ife had been given compassionate leave to look after his family.

When his mother returned home, it was planned that he would be posted to the Army careers office in Worcester.