Jonathan Martin was walking in the town centre with his girlfriend when Michael Goldsmith punched him four times in the face.

The attack left Mr Martin needing hospital treatment for a split lip and a chipped tooth, while two other teeth were pushed inwards, one of which had to be removed, Bury St Edmunds magistrates heard.

"I feel angry towards this man because of the pain and scars he has caused me for no apparent reason," said Mr Martin in a statement.

On Tuesday, Goldsmith, 19, of Mill Street, Mildenhall, was ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to Mr Martin.

The magistrates, who heard that Goldsmith had no previous convictions, also ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Goldsmith, who pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing, was unrepresented in court.

He said: "I've learned my lesson – it's not going to happen again."

In a personal statement read by prosecutor Ian Devine, Mr Martin told how his life had changed 'dramatically' since the attack last October.

He had been at the Bell pub, where his girlfriend works, and was walking through the town when three men, one of them Goldsmith, barged into him.

He was then assaulted by Goldsmith.

Mr Martin said he felt conscious of the change to his facial features, that it affected his confidence and this, in turn, affected both his work and his relationship.

"I would now feel that everybody is looking at me," he said.

"I feel that the assault was an unprovoked attack. I didn't know the offender. It has affected my relationship with my girlfriend. I feel responsible and guilty. I should not have to put my friends and family through worry like this."

He added he had been told that he would now need an estimated £3,450 of dental treatment.