A man who committed a "cowardly" attack in Bristol city centre has been spared immediate custody.
Ben Stanley was aged 19 when he assaulted Ethan Barraclough at the bottom of Park Street.
After punching him from the side he either kicked or stamped on his face and head on the ground, Bristol Crown Court heard.
But Judge William Hart recognized Stanley had acted out of character and suspected he may have been suffering from the onset of mental illness.
Stanley, now 21, of Bishpsworth Road, denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in June 2017.
The judge handed him a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He told Stanley: "It was a cowardly attack on the victim.
"It is impossible to rule out your mental health as a potential factor."
Stanley was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay his victim £400 compensation.
The court heard Stanley attacked Mr Barraclough, following an earlier incident, and ran off.
A battered and bruised Mr Barraclough was treated in hospital for some six hours before walking home.
Weeks later he attended his dentist, who carried out repair work to restore damaged teeth.
The court heard Stanley was deemed to be suffering from psychosis at the start of last year and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Jennifer Tallentire, defending, told the judge: "He was behaving erratically.
"Psychosis does not come on overnight.
"He was smoking a lot of cannabis.
"He has left all of that behind.
"He's now on his medication and there has been a determination to change his life.
"He has demonstrated a commitment to obtain work.
"It was an unpleasant offence but mercifully more serious injuries were not sustained by the victim."
The court heard Stanley had been offered an apprenticeship to train as a barber.
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