by Julia Roberts

A nightclubber "enraged" at seeing his girlfriend passionately kiss his friend has been jailed for 10 months for attacking him.

Justin Beard, who turns 23 on Monday, lashed out at Andrew Carter while on a night out at the Casino Rooms in Rochester in August last year.

The two men had been friends for several years. But trouble flared when Beard, of Vicarage Road, Strood, and his partner rowed. She then kissed Mr Carter.

Passing sentence Judge Jeremy Carey said Beard had been provoked to some extent by his girlfriend's actions but that his own behaviour was "grossly excessive".

"No one is entitled to attack someone and cause the sort of injury that you did," he added. "You had a choice to walk away or to indulge your feelings of anger and you took the wrong decision."

Beard admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing but the case was adjourned to Friday as Beard disputed the prosecution case that he had struck Mr Carter with a bottle.

After hearing evidence from Mr Carter himself, and another witness in the club at the time, Judge Carey ruled that while he had "strong suspicions" that Beard did use a bottle, he could not be "entirely sure", as the law required.

He therefore sentenced Beard on the basis that no bottle was used. Judge Carey added that had he decided Beard did "bottle" Mr Carter his jail term would have been twice as long.