A drug addict has been jailed for a vicious street attack on a disabled man after he left a methadone bottle with his name on it at the scene.
A shocked driver was forced to make an emergency stop to avoid running over Alan Duffy and his victim Richard Sinclair after he pushed him into a main road.
Duffy knocked Mr Sinclair's stick away and left him with a broken nose and black eye after a sustained attack on a main road in Paignton.
He was a homeless drug user who attacked his victim after an argument.
Duffy, aged 46, of no fixed abode, admitted causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for 12 months by Judge Erik Salomonsen.
He told him:"The victim suffered from a condition which made him walk with a stick. You punched him to the ground twice and fractured his nose and caused him broken teeth and swelling to his cheek.
"You left him covered in blood. You attacked a disabled man in the street and in those circumstances there must be an immediate custodial sentence."
Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said the victim tried to fend Duffy off with his walking stick after being knocked to the ground. The police were called by a van driver who had to stop in Totnes Road because the two men were in his path.
She said after the attack Duffy walked off but was arrested nearby. She said:"He left behind him a methadone bottle which had his full name on it. Police arrested him shortly afterwards."
Mr Paul Dentith, defending, said Duffy became angry because he claimed he had been racially abused. He had been doing well on supervision at the time and hoped to return to a stable life while staying with his sister in Paignton.
