A man left his best friend with a broken jaw after kicking him in the face during a row over the score in their squash game.

Dean Williams, who is trained in kung fu, landed the heavy blow as his pal bent over to pick up his racquet when they squabbled over who had won more games.

But a judge has told the 33-year-old he will not be jailed if he can stump up the £3,648 the victim needs for dental work during the next three months.

Williams and victim Liam Walsh had been friends for five years, with the defendant even once living with him and his girlfriend.

However the men fell out over the score after one of their regular games of squash at the Castle Place Leisure Centre in Trowbridge on Wednesday November 10 last year.

And when Mr Walsh bent over, Williams kicked him to the face smashing one of his teeth and leaving him with two fractures to the jaw.

With blood pouring from the wounds he was rushed to hospital where a metal plate had to be inserted into his face.

The attack also left his bite misaligned which will take months of expensive dentistry to repair with the use of braces.

James Byrne, prosecuting, told a judge at Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday how the incident took place towards the end of the men’s game at the leisure centre.

“They entered into a rather silly discussion about who was winning: a discussion about whether they had played three or four games,” he said.

They were arguing, calling each other liars, when he said Mr Walsh bent over to pick up his racquet and Williams landed the blow.

The victim later told police the sensation was ‘like crunching Polos’ and he was left in a lot of pain with blood pouring out.

Although he has been through operations to insert plates and then to remove the wires supporting them Mr Walsh still needs the dental work to realign his bite.

Mr Byrne said it would take six months and cost more than £3,500: money Mr Walsh, who works as a salesman, does not have.

He told the court that any payout from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board was likely to take years to arrive meaning he could not get his jaw repaired.

Williams, formerly of Methuen Way but now living at Kennilworth Gardens, Melksham, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm.

Andrew Eddy, defending, said his client was full of remorse for what he had done realising he had not only caused physical pain but also mental injuries to his victim.

“Mr Williams is absolutely ashamed and sorry for what he has done to what was his best friend,” he said.

“By all accounts he is a conscientious hard working decent person. He on this occasion for some unknown reasons had a total moment of madness over what was a very minor argument. He realises now he was wrong anyway.”

He said the consequences of what he had done will now live with him probably for the rest of his life.

Mr Eddy said his client worked as a foreman for the carpenters on a building site and was prepared to pay compensation to his former friend.

Judge Euan Ambrose said he would defer sentence until Monday May 23 and told Williams if he could save the cash in that time he would not jail him.

However he warned him it would probably be a suspended sentence and he may have to pay further compensation to cover the distress of the injury.