A STOCKY man punched a woman in the face after she called him fat - leaving her with a fractured skull.

Peter Jackson was given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to wounding Helen Stanley.

David Pojur, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court how Miss Stanley was waiting for a taxi in Nelson Square, Bolton, at 4.50am on May 12 after a night out with friends.

Jackson, aged 27, who did not know Miss Stanley, was also waiting for a taxi and became angry after she referred to his build.

“He hasn’t taken lightly having fun made of his size,” said Mr Pojur.

“He called her a skinny rat. The next thing she remembers is being in the back of an ambulance.”

When arrested Jackson claimed he slapped her after her comment was made.

He said she retaliated and then he punched her, with her hitting her head as she fell.

She spent two days in hospital for observation after doctors found she had a fractured skull and bruising and bleeding on her brain.

The court was told that Jackson, of Harcourt Drive, Stretford, has no previous record for violence.

Sentencing Jackson to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years with nine months supervision and attendance on a behaviour management course, Recorder Peter Cowan told him that, although he may have be provoked, he was larger by far than his victim.

The court heard that she has not made a good recovery from the ordeal.