A PROMISING young boxer has been jailed for 16 months for drunken town centre assaults. Wayne Bayliss managed to break a man's nose, punch another in the face and elbow a taxi driver in the ear while he was so drunk he could hardly stand, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

A PROMISING young boxer has been jailed for 16 months for drunken town centre assaults.

Wayne Bayliss managed to break a man's nose, punch another in the face and elbow a taxi driver in the ear while he was so drunk he could hardly stand, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting said the 25-year-old amateur boxer had been wrestling with others at a Bury St Edmunds taxi rank on May 14 this year.

He said taxi driver Anthony Buxton believed the group were drunk and might damage his car so he offered the ride to Richard Last who was next in line.

Mr Crimp said Bayliss, 25, of Cullum Road, Bury, hit the 69-year-old taxi driver in the ear and punched Mr Last twice in the head.

Less than two weeks later, when Bayliss was on bail for the two assaults, he was involved in a fight with John French in the town.

Mr Crimp said Mr French had noticed Bayliss looking at his girlfriend and said: “What are you looking at?”

The prosecutor told the court: “Wayne Bayliss lunged forward and head-butted Mr French in the face. He staggered back and then he was punched twice which left him shaken”.

He added that Mr French fought back and managed to get on top of Bayliss but suffered a broken nose during the assault.

Bayliss, who has a long record for violence, pleaded guilty to two charges of common assault and to causing actual bodily harm.

Helen Booth, mitigating, said her client had not hit Mr Buxton intentionally but caught him with his elbow.

She added that Mr Last had been the “aggressor” in the taxi rank and Mr French had provoked the fight with Bayliss.

Ms Booth said Bayliss had not been convicted of violence since August 2002 when he had “cut down” on his alcohol consumption. She said it was then that his grandmother began “deteriorating” with old age and she died on May 12 this year.

Ms Booth said Bayliss's reaction to this was to “self destruct” and his offending restarted soon after.

Judge John Devaux said there was a “significant risk” that Bayliss would “seriously harm” a member of the public in the future.

He was jailed for a total of 16 months and his licence on release from prison was extended to three years.