A Colchester man who attacked a neighbour with a metal weight because he put a crisp packet through his door has been jailed for 26 months.

Ian Foster was walking up stairs to his second floor flat in supported housing in Mersea Road, Colchester, when Paul Davis peered over a balcony holding a small weight, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He then leaned over and struck Mr Foster’s head with the weight around four times, said Richard Potts, prosecuting.

Mr Foster slumped against a wall and was then hit again causing a cut under his eyebrow.

When one of Mr Foster’s friends asked Davis why he had attacked Mr Foster he replied: “He put a crisp packet through my door,” said Mr Potts.

He said Mr Foster, who lost consciousness during the attack, was taken to hospital and was found to have injuries to his head and face.

Davis, 41, admitted unlawfully wounding Mr Foster on November 17 last year and was jailed for 26 months and banned from contacting Mr Foster for five years.

Gareth Hughes for Davis said his client had hit Mr Foster with the weight three times because he was upset at anti-social behaviour by Mr Foster.