A soldier who saw active combat in Afghanistan has been spared jail for glassing a man after the judge was told he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Luke Davison, 23, a Private in the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, was known to his friends as “The Angry Man” because he was so deeply mentally scarred, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Elliott Sutton outside The Albert Hotel on Bridge Street, Keighley, on December 23 last year.

Prosecutor Richard Davies said Mr Sutton needed seven stitches in his head after Davison threw his glass of beer at him.

Davison, of Keighley but living in Army accommodation in Warminster, was aggressive when he came out of the pub and he suddenly threw his glass at Mr Sutton, wounding him on the head.

Davison was arrested in a nearby takeaway and told police he was known as “The Angry Man” because he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan.

He had been drinking and could recall nothing of the incident.

Davison’s solicitor advocate, Maria Temkow, handed in letters and references about him to Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC.

She said the soldier’s commanding officer, Major Singleton, was in court.

Judge Durham Hall told Davison: “You have served your country with exceptional distinction and bravery.

“You have seen things that no young man out of service could possibly imagine and you have been deeply wounded mentally as a result.”

The judge said it would be “a cowardly act” to lock Davison up.

“The country owes you a debt and you can claim the benefit of it,” he told him.

Davison was sentenced to a 12 month community order, with 12 months supervision that included help from a special programme for victims of post traumatic stress disorder.

He was also ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work.