A Bristol City fan has been spared a prison sentence after drunkenly assaulting a 13-year-old boy by a kebab van.

Peter Halladay, 35, of Marlfield Walk, Bishopsworth, pleaded guilty to assaulting the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when he appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court yesterday.

The incident happened on January 31 in Lakemead Grove in Highridge, Bishopsworth, on the day City beat Barnsley 2-0 at home.

Earlier in the day Halladay had drunk six pints of cider and had been to the match, the court heard.

He was given a 12-month suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work in the community and told to take part in a "community against alcohol and drugs programme".

He was also told to pay £100 compensation and £60 prosecution costs.

May Li, prosecuting, said the boy was walking home with friends, when one of them stopped to buy a drink from a kebab van.

Halladay, in a Bristol City shirt at the time, had gone to the van to buy a chicken kebab while his wife and 10-year-old son stayed in the car.

While he was waiting for his food, the court heard that Halladay was hit on the shoulder with a stone thrown by a group of youths nearby.

After walking back to his car to put his food inside, he returned to the group and approached the victim, slapping him with an open hand, causing him to fall to the floor.

Ms Li said: "The defendant said, 'this is what you'll get if you do it again'.

"The victim curled up in a ball on the ground, and Mr Halladay walked to his car and drove away."

The court heard the assault left the boy with swelling and bruising to his left eye, and that Halladay admitted to having a drink problem.

Ms Li added: "The defendant told police that it was a stupid thing to do and he said sorry."

Gaynor Ibe, defending, said: "Mr Halladay is a family man with young children himself. This behaviour is out of character and certainly behaviour that he is ashamed of."

The court heard he was at risked of losing his job, and was the main breadwinner of the family because his wife could not work full-time and look after their daughters.