A MAN with a history of violence, the latest an affray in Winchester, has been spared jail because he is now a Christian.

Paul Snook, 20, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to affray after CCTV cameras recorded him punching and kicking a man outside the Guildhall Tavern in The Broadway on February 18.

The victim was believed to be a soldier but disappeared before police arrived, Winchester Crown was told.

The judge heard that in recent months Snook had joined an evangelical church in Coventry and had turned over a new leaf.

He had been baptised and had secured a job as a trainee fork-lift truck driver.

Judge Charles Wade, sentencing, told him: "You are extremely fortunate to have been able to make contact with this Christian organisation. It is committed to prisoners on their release. You have started to turn away from your previous life of crime and appear to be embarking on something much more important."

Snook was placed on probation for two years.