A judge told a thug who “nearly killed” a man with a single punch that he couldn’t sentence him – because the author of a pre-sentence report hadn’t considered one lot of offences he’d committed.

Andrew Smith’s brothers were jailed in June for a spate of drunken violence, much of which followed clashes over the pool table.

At the same hearing, 25-year-old Andrew, of Stratford Close, Toothill, admitted grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm and affray.

The GBH charge relates to an attack on a man who had agreed to drive him home to Swindon from Trowbridge in January. Smith had been drinking at the Trowbridge Sports Bar.

Smith floored him with a single punch that resulted in a brain injury that forced surgeons to remove part of the victim’s skull in order to relieve the pressure inside his head. In a victim statement read out by prosecutor Rob Welling, the 27-year-old man said: “He nearly killed me.”

A month earlier, Smith had been out in Trowbridge town centre with his parents and brother Michael when the family were involved in a verbal exchange with a drinker outside the Albany Palace Wetherspoons bar.

Fists flew as a brawl erupted between the groups, spilling inside the pub’s lobby. Andrew, who had removed his top when the violence began, kicked a woman as she lay on the floor.

Andrew was out on prison on licence when he attacked his victims in Trowbridge last winter. He had been jailed for three years and nine months in January 2018 for wounding with intent.

Matthew Harbinson, defending, said drink had contributed to his client’s problems from an early age. He had spent much of his adult life in jail. “He is genuinely remorseful and extremely shocked and upset by the consequences of that single punch.”

Judge Peter Crabtree jailed two of the brothers for a combined total of eight years but ordered a pre-sentence report to look at whether Andrew should receive an extended sentence.

On Friday, Swindon Crown Court heard that the new probation report had only considered one set of offences – the January GBH – and not the Wetherspoons brawl. Adjourning sentence to July 17, Judge Crabtree told Smith: “I know you wanted to get this over with. I sentenced your brothers a month ago, but without a report that deals with all the offences, I’m stuck I’m afraid.”

Last month Det Sgt Lauren Barnard said: “This level of violence is completely unacceptable and causes fear and distress amongst those within our communities.”