A FURIOUS man attacked another man with a deadly martial arts weapon because he thought he was selling his younger brother drugs.

Wesley Smith saw something happening between the man and his 14-year-old brother and mistakenly thought that drugs were being pushed.

He returned home and picked a set of nun chaku, a Chinese martial arts weapon made of two pieces of wood attached by a chain in the middle, and hit the man.

The victim suffered a fracture to a rib and cuts and bruises to his head and body in the attack. Smith, aged 21, of Bleasdeale Avenue, Smithills, appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence. He had earlier admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court was told that Smith had a deep dislike of drugs as he had seen the effect that drug taking had on a close family member. When he saw what he thought was a drug transaction between his younger brother and the victim he lost his temper.

He came from a stable family and had achieved nine GCSEs at school and, until recently, had always worked. He bitterly regretted his actions and offered his apologies to the victim.

Recorder Mukhtar Hussain, QC, said the offence took him over the custodial threshold, but his previous good character, his stable background and supportive family meant he would not be going to prison.

He sentenced him to serve 150 hours of a Community Punishment Order.