A MAN who "rugby tackled" another through a charity shop window during a Denbighshire street brawl has avoided jail.

Oliver Jackson, 20, of Llandyrnog, appeared before Mold Crown Court on Thursday, November 24, having previously admitted to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He was handed a suspended sentence of 12 months and ordered to carry out a 10 day rehabilitation order, as well as comply with an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement for up to 120 days.

The incident occurred during a night out in Ruthin on May 29 this year.

The court heard that Jackson had been out in the town with friends socialising at various pubs.

At around 9pm, Jackson and his friends were sat in the beer garden at the Boar's Head on Clwyd Street. That is when the victim, Shane Rowlands, spotted one of his friends speaking with Jackson.

A 'scuffle' had broken out between Jackson and Zane Edwards, with Jackson having to be 'pulled away' from Mr Edwards, the court heard.

A member of staff then asked the group to leave but the fighting continued out onto the street.

Jackson then came face-to-face with Mr Edwards and Mr Rowlands in the alleyway beside the Boar's Head and this resulted in further confrontation which spilled out onto Clwyd Street.

'Multiple punches' were thrown before passers-by managed to get Jackson onto the ground.

CCTV played in court showed Jackson get up before charging towards Mr Rowlands, grabbing his waist and 'rugby tackling' both himself and the victim through the window of the Children's Society building.

Mr Rowlands pulled a large piece of glass from his left-hand side before managing to get back to the pub to ask for help.

The court heard that the damage caused amounted to around £2,500 in total, with Jackson's family having been back to the shop to pay for damages 'a few days after the incident'.

Following a visit to the hospital, Mr Rowlands was told by a doctor that he had suffered a 10cm chest wound during the attack.

In a victim statement provided to the court, he said that he had been 'unable to work for three months after the attack' and that it had had a 'negative impact' on his mental health.

Simon Rogers, defending Jackson, said the brawl was "highly out of character" for him. He added that Jackson admitted his actions had been 'stupid'.

Handing him a suspended sentence, Recorder Phillpotts said: "It is extremely sad to see someone like you in court.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that alcohol played a major part in the incident. If you had done this with some forethought or malice, we'd be having a very different conversation right now.

"I cannot ignore the injuries depicted but I have taken a number of things into account, including the fact that you are a young man with no previous convictions."