A MAN punched his father in the face after an argument in a Basingstoke street.

Daryl Cole, of Deanes Close, South View, Basingstoke, threw a punch at his father Neil Cole after the pair argued on December 2 last year, Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard. The younger Cole, 21, appeared in the dock to be sentenced, having pleaded guilty to assault by beating at a previous hearing.

Claire Hartman, prosecuting, said Neil Cole went to fetch his son from a house in Nightingale Gardens, Rooksdown, on the evening of December 2, so that he would return to his pregnant girlfriend.

The court heard the pair then argued in the street before Cole punched his father and ran off.

She said: “He said by the time he got off the floor, the defendant was nowhere to be seen. He had a graze on the back of his head the size of a 50p piece, and a sore right jaw.”

She added that the father said in his police statement that he did not want his son to go to prison, but wanted him to get help for drug addiction.

Chris Curtis, defending, said Cole, who has received treatment for mental health problems, was very sorry he hit his father.

He added: “Since his arrest, he has not taken drugs which are often a catalyst. Hopefully, his life is going the right way.”

Presiding magistrate Brenda Thompson gave Cole a six-month community order and ordered him to pay £85 costs.