A man attacked his business partner with a wooden pole after the venture failed and left him up to £30,000 in debt.

Lee Smith drove out to an industrial unit in Hanley Swan where Nigel Mason was working, Worcester Crown Court heard.

In an angry mood, he struck Mr Mason on the head, knocking him to the ground, and then delivered more blows to his body.

The victim suffered a cut head and weals on his chest on February 25, said Kerry Moreton, prosecuting.

Smith, aged 36, of Vesta Tilley Court, Worcester city centre, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Mason and causing him actual bodily harm.

Judge Amjad Nawaz said Smith had taken the law into his own hands while in a "frustrated" state of mind.

He said sending Smith to jail would incur greater expense to the public purse than the case warranted.

The judge accepted that Smith was heavily in debt and decided not to award compensation against him because "it would add to a strained situation".

Smith, now unemployed and on a benefits, was given a 12-month community order and told to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

He had a previous record but his last conviction for violence was in 1990.

Luckily, Mr Mason was wearing a hard hat at the time of the attack which saved him from more serious injury. He made a full recovery.

Defence counsel Adam Western said Smith had lost between £20,000 and £30,000 and his house on the doomed business.

He now lived with his mother and was trying to arrange his bankruptcy.

Smith was receiving £65 a week benefits but all the money went on shared family bills.

Mr Western added: "This assault came out of the financial presure he was under."