A MAN who kicked another customer outside a Dunfermline pub has been jailed for eight months.

Connor McLean, 20, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court after admitting his part in the incident outside Coady's Bar and pleading guilty to breaching a community payback order for the second time since it was imposed in May last year.

He assaulted a man by kicking him in the head, to his injury, in Pilmuir Street on September 9.

Alongside him in the dock was Mitchell Kay, 19, who admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner and engaging in a fight with a man whereby his victim was knocked to the ground unconscious.

Depute fiscal Louise Graham said a number of parties had congregated outside Coady's and appeared to engage in a fight. During the course of the fight, one man was knocked to the ground unconscious while another man was kicked to the head by McLean. The fight was seen on CCTV and police were contacted.

The man who had been knocked unconscious was taken to the Victoria Hospital but was discharged with no other injuries. The other man suffered bruising to the head.

Defence solicitor Ian Beatson said Kay, of Sinclair Drive, Cowdenbeath, had been out drinking with friends.

He said his client was approached by one man so he struck him once, causing him to fall to the ground.

"He was not at the locus but was contacted by some friends who said they were having difficulties with some older individuals," he told the court. "He went round and somewhat foolishly got involved."

"He takes full responsibility for his behaviour. He should have ignored the complainer and accepts he should have left the area but, because of alcohol consumed, he became involved."

Solicitor Sarah Meehan said McLean, of Waverley Place, Lochore, had been in Coady's with friends.

"There appeared to be a difficulty between the groups involving the complainers and a number of Mr McLean's group that resulted in the parties going outside and ultimately resulted in a fight breaking out," she said.

"It is regrettable that McLean became involved at all. He very much became involved at the end of the incident. The complainer found himself on the ground and McLean is walking away and foolishly takes the decision to kick him once to the head.

"Clearly, the injury could have been much more serious than it was and it is perhaps only due to good fortune that it was not anything more serious. He regrets his actions."

She added that the community payback order breach happened as he failed to provide reasonable excuse for non-attendance.

"He was going through a difficult time in his family life in that his grandmother was unwell and has now passed away and that is something he was not coping with," she said. "He didn't deal with it in the right way."

Sentencing Kay, Sheriff Craig McSherry said he took into account he was a first offender and placed him on a community payback order requiring him to do 200 hours of unpaid work within nine months.

However, he told McLean he had done less than seventh of the work required and ordered him to return to custody for six months as well as imposing a concurrent eight month sentence for kicking his victim in the head.

"It is clear that any community order is wasted on you," he added.