A binman left his colleague with a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain after attacking him during a Christmas drinking session.
Kyle Morgan Stewart, victim Daniel Charlton and others had gone out in Newcastle city centre after receiving tips from members of the public in Walker. Morgan Stewart claimed Mr Charlton had been irritating him by nipping him and ended up knocking him to the ground outside a pub.
Mr Charlton's head hit the pavement with a "sickening thud" and Morgan Stewart made off, later handing himself in when he realised the victim was in intensive care.
