A JUDGE said a Hereford bodybuilder might have faced a murder charge had trained medical staff not been in a nightclub when he knocked a soldier unconscious.

Hereford Crown Court heard that it was in the early hours of May 2 2016 that Samuel Scotford, of Hinton Crescent, assaulted George Fielding in Saxtys on Widemarsh Street.

Michael Aspinall, prosecuting, said the pair were not known to each other but were seen on CCTV talking to each other for less than one minute before Scotford knocked Mr Fielding, a soldier in the army, to the floor.

He said: "Mr Fielding is unconscious for seven minutes. A nurse present had to give him CPR and unblocked his airways. Thankfully he came round."

He did not go to hospital but woke up the following morning with a 1cm cut to the inside of his cheek and had been bleeding.

Mr Fielding was unable to say what the conversation was about as he had been drinking, Mr Aspinall told the court.

He thought it might have been about football but he said he had not been aggressive and ultimately the punch was unwarranted. Mr Fielding appeared to make a full recovery and his work in the army was unaffected and he is still on duty.

"When arrested, Scotford said he had been drinking but that he was not drunk," Mr Aspinall said.

"The brief conversation, he recalled, was as a result of both men bumping into each other accidentally. Scotford claimed Mr Fielding said he was in the army and trained to kill people. He struck him as he feared for his safety."

At Hereford Crown Court last week, Scotford, 28, pleaded not guilty to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Sarah Gerrard, defending, said Scotford was a bodybuilder, sponsored for a fitness clothing company, who took part in competitions, some of which were overseas in Miami.

He also works long hours as an engineer, she said, working with commercial jets and is a qualified aero engineer.

She said Scotford also engages in a 'great deal' of community work, assisting with training children and completing unpaid charity work, as well as helping out at a county football club.

A reference from his employer also stated that Scotford showed managers the utmost respect and had recently stepped in to take on a job which involved working outside normal hours.

Recorder Allan Mainds said a man of Scotford's size should know his strength and the danger he could impose on people. He might have been facing a murder charge, was it not for the assistance of medically trained people present on the night, he said.

"I do not quite understand the origin of the expression Haymaker but that is what you hit that man with. You punched him so hard, you knocked him completely out," he added.

Scotford was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work which he must complete within 12 months.

He will also pay £1,000 in compensation to Mr Fielding and a £115 victim surcharge.