A NEWPORT man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a 12-year-old boy has been made subject to a community order and told to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Stephen Walsh, aged 42, of Upper Tennyson Road, appearing at Newport Magistrates' Court earlier today, pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault after breaking up a fight between two 12-year-old boys at Beechwood Park on May 19 this year.

The court was told that he admitted breaking up the fight by throwing both of the boys to the floor, but then grabbed one of the boys by the throat and threatened him by shouting at him.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was said to have ‘completely changed’ after the incident,

A victim impact statement read to the court said that the boy had previously been 'very confident, happy, sociable and outgoing' who enjoyed school and was 'fun to be around', but that since the incident he had struggled to get to sleep, lost his appetite and was unhappy at school.

Ian George, in mitigation for Walsh, said it was a 'momentary loss of temper’ and that he had an 'unblemished record' with no previous convictions.

He added: “This wasn’t an action that was pre-meditated or pre-planned. He realises what he did was completely inappropriate and he should have walked away from the situation.”

He added: "Mr Walsh is a man of clean character and has been very active in the community, setting up his own football team when the previous team was disbanded.

“This is completely out of character and was a momentary loss of temper.”

Magistrate Reverend Boutflower handed down a community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.

Walsh was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £60, costs of £400, a £150 criminal court charge and compensation of £200.