The footballer Joey Barton was jailed for six months yesterday for two “cowardly and extremely violent” assaults committed at the end of a long night’s drinking.

Barton, a Newcastle United midfielder, had drunk ten pints and five bottles of lager when he was filmed by CCTV as he straddled a man lying on the ground and rained blows on him.

He was then shown attacking a second victim, a 16-year-old boy who had been watching the violence outside a branch of McDonald’s.

The assaults happened when Barton, 25, who has one England cap, was on bail for an alleged assault on Ousmane Dabo, 31, then a colleague in the Manchester City squad, during a training session. He faces trial next month.

Barton was appearing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday with two other defendants, his brother Andrew, 20, and his cousin Nadine Wilson, 27.

Judge Henry Globe, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, told Barton, who had pleaded guilty to affray and assault, that he was the worst behaved of the three, had ignored attempts to restrain him and behaved in a “most violent and aggressive manner”.

The court was told that the three had been out drinking all night in Liverpool, Barton’s home city, and were in a 24-hour McDonald’s burger bar at 5am when there was an altercation between Barton and Wilson and a group of men. CCTV footage showed Barton saying: “You have no right to say that. You are a t***. Wait outside and I will be out in a minute,” before being restrained by Wilson. When the group of men left, two teenagers, Jordan Spencer and Connor Murphy, asked Barton whether he was the footballer. Wilson, who had drunk up to three bottles of wine, was said to be loud and aggressive and told a person who tried to intervene to “f*** off”. The two 16-year-old boys followed Barton out of the restaurant.

Ian Harris, QC, for the prosecution, said: “Barton then punched this man with such force that it knocked him off his feet. He then punched him four or five times. He straddled the man and attacked him with 14 or 15 blows before he was pulled off by his brother. It was a violent and cowardly attack.”

As the unknown man fled, Barton turned to one of the teenagers, who claimed that Wilson had slapped him and he had pushed her back. Barton then punched the teenager. His brother started attacking the second youth. Mr Harris said that the teenagers did not provoke the attacks.

Stuart Driver, QC, in mitigation, said that the footballer had recognised that he had an addiction to alcohol, and that he “despises the man he becomes with drink inside him”.

Mr Driver suggested that Barton was provoked by comments about his brother Michael, 20, who is serving life imprisonment for a racist murder three years ago. Barton, who was injured and out of his club’s squad at the time of the assault, has had a troubled history. Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle manager, said in a letter read to the court that he was a reformed man.

Andrew Barton admitted assault and was given a suspended six-month jail sentence. Wilson admitted affray and assault and also received a suspended six-month sentence.

Infamous players

— Lee Hughes (West Bromwich Albion): six years’ jail for causing death by dangerous driving

— Duncan Ferguson (Rangers and Scotland): jailed for head-butting an opponent

— Peter Storey (Arsenal and England): three years for fraud, plus 28 days for attempting to import pornography

— Tony Adams (Arsenal and England): jailed for drink-driving

— Gary Charles (Nottingham Forest and England): jailed twice, for drink-driving and for cutting off an electronic tag so that he could go on holiday

— Mickey Thomas (Manchester United and Wales) jailed for fraud

— Graham Rix (Arsenal and England): sentenced to a year in jail for having sex with a minor

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