An Ipswich 36-year-old who punched a man in the face causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the ground after he accidentally stumbled into him during a night out has been sentenced.

Paul Andrews pointed upwards towards the sky and when the man looked up Andrews punched him in the left side of the face with a clenched fist, Ipswich Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

The victim fell back and hit his head on the ground outside the Plough pub in Ipswich town centre and lost consciousness.

He was taken to hospital where he was found to have a broken nose and multiple fractures to his face, including fractures to his cheekbone and eye socket.

Andrews, who is of Austin Street in Ipswich, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the victim on March 9 this year.

Sentencing Andrews, Judge David Wilson described the attack as "totally unprovoked" and said the defendant represented a risk of danger to the public.

However, he said the probation service felt it could work with Andrews and that he could be rehabilitated.

In addition to being given an eight month prison sentence suspended for two years, Andrews was given a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a 90-day alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement.

He was also given a 12-month mental health treatment requirement.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Andrews, who has 90 previous convictions, had issues in the past with alcohol and drugs and had relapsed.

He accepted he had lost his temper with the victim and that his behaviour had been unreasonable.

Andrews said he was "truly sorry" for what he did.