A factory worker who aimed a ‘number of punches’ and a kick to the head of his victim in a ‘vicious’ town centre attack has been jailed.

Pawel Mirocha, 25, of Sharples Street, Accrington, caused victim Wojcieh Ploch to suffer a broken nose and tooth.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Mirocha attacked Mr Ploch in Burnley town centre outside Blu Bar when Mr Ploch and his friend Artur Qwiatkowski tried to act as ‘peacemakers’ during a fight between a group of Polish and English people on a night out.

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, told the court how Mirocha ‘took umbrage with his involvement’ and punched Mr Ploch twice to the head with his right fist causing him to ‘slump towards the fence’.

He then punched him to the head five more times and kicked him once to the head with his right foot as he was on the floor before being pulled away. The court heard how Robert Slowik, 25, of China Street, Accrington, and another man ran after Mr Qwiatkowski and punched him once to the head.

Mr Parker said he later fell to the floor and the other man started to ‘punch him to the head repeatedly’ while he was in a ‘foetal position’.

The court heard how Slowik then ‘turned from an attacker to a peacemaker’ and tried to pull him away by his legs and stop the other man’s attack.

Mirocha pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for six months.

Slowik, who is also a factory worker, pleaded guilty to affray and was given a four month jail term, suspended for 12 months with a 16-week curfew, ordered to pay £300 costs and £100 compensation. Philip Holden, defending Slowik, said he is a man of good character and ‘plainly came to his senses part of the way through the incident when he recognised that matters were getting out of hand’. He said Slowik was ‘disgusted with himself.

Timothy Storrie, for Mirocha, said the defendant was ‘ashamed and sorry for what he did’ and it was a ‘motiveless an stupid attack’. He said: “He entered his plea when the evidence against him was legally threadbare. He is remorseful.”

Judge Jonathan Ginson said Mirocha’s attack had been vicious, adding: “It seems that everybody involved had consumed a significant quantity of alcohol.”