A PENSIONER was knocked of his bar stool and kicked after another drinker in a Blackburn pub felt he had been provoked, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that lorry driver Peter Fairbrother punched the other man on the cheek because of comments he made about his wife, which came after she had seen him hanging around outside their house.

Fairbrother, 58, of Shear Bank Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assaulting Andrew Parker causing him actual bodily harm. He was remanded on bail for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the victim accepted there had been bad feeling between the two men prior to the incident in the Sportsman's pub.

Clare Knight, defending, said Mr Parker used to make the odd "snide" comment about her client who, in the main, ignored these.

"On this day his wife had indicated the aggrieved had been hanging around their house and she felt very uneasy about this," said Miss Knight.