A 23-YEAR-OLD ‘saw red mist’ when he beat up a clubber who made reference to his dead mother.

Carl Critchlow, of Atlantic Road in Weston, pleaded guilty this week to assaulting Paul Duffey and then setting light to his coat.

The court heard how Critchlow left Dragon Kiss in Regent Street in the early hours of October 4 and launched an ‘unprovoked’ attack on his victim.

He is said to have punched Mr Duffey to the head more than once, before kicking him in the head when he was on the floor.

While Mr Duffey ran off to tell police, Critchlow set fire to his coat

But in mitigation Critchlow told magistrates, through a probation service representative, that Mr Duffey had attacked him in a bar earlier that evening.

The defendant said the victim waited for him as he came out of Dragon Kiss, before saying something horrible about his mother, who took her own life two years ago.

Critchlow, clearly emotional in the dock on Monday at North Somerset Courthouse in St Georges, says he accepts his behaviour was unacceptable.

But the University of the West Of England student says he ‘saw red mist’ when Mr Duffey mentioned his mother and kicked the victim in the chest when he grabbed his leg.

Critchlow received a 12-month community order with supervision and unpaid work requirements for the charges of assault by beating and arson.

Chair of the bench Jean Lord told him: “If you want to stay in the community and do your course, that should get a future for you, you need to keep to the requirements of the order.”

Critchlow was also ordered to pay �85 costs and �30 compensation.