A 23-year-old man who attacked a kebab shop worker and left him needing six stitches was today jailed for two years.

Oxford Crown Court heard that Craig McKiernan, of Park Road, Didcot, provoked the man by stealing his keys after a confrontation in the town's Delight Kebab House 2.

McKiernan had denied a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm after the incident in September 2006, but was convicted after a trial last December.

He had also previously admitted a separate charge of affray over an incident at the Queen's Arms pub, in Didcot, in February.

Referring to the assault, Rob Harland, prosecuting, said: "The victim says he fell to the ground. He was punched and kicked on the ground in the melee by Mr McKiernan. He had a bloody nose, swelling to his head and his eyes and ears."

Claire Fraser, defending, said McKiernan had not started the fight.

She added that he had mental health issues, including a possible personality disorder.

Recorder Richard Prior sentenced McKiernan to two years for the assault, with a concurrent six-month sentence for the affray.