A FUMING newbie barman punched a gift store window on the night of his first shift – having been ordered by a judge to get the job.

Louis Watkins damaged his hand so badly that he required surgery and his heart stopped as he lay on the operating table.

Smashing the window put the 20-year-old in breach of a two-year suspended prison sentence made in June after he admitted burglary and other matters.

But Judge Jason Taylor QC stepped short of jailing the young man, after hearing Watkins could benefit from rehabilitative work with the probation service.

Watkins was put on his final warning. Judge Taylor said: “You will not get another opportunity. This is it.

“I will not be giving you a third chance. You will go straight to prison. Your feet will not touch the ground.”

Swindon Crown Court heard that in the early hours of August 25, Watkins was on the way home from his first shift at an Old Town pub.

He had drunk spirits, which he was not used to, and was upset after comments made by his ex-girlfriend.

He punched the window of a shop, not named in court but understood to be Young’s gift shop on Wood Street. He smashed the glass, causing £1,200 of damage.

In the process Watkins sliced his hand. The operation to fix the damage took five-and-a-half hours, leaving him with a nasty scar and a loss of function that will last a lifetime.

Watkins, of Shaftesbury Avenue, Park South, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage before the magistrates’ court. Appearing in the crown court dock with his arm in a sling, Watkins admitted breaching a suspended sentence order as a result of having committed another offence.

Defending, Emma Handslip acknowledged on behalf of her client that compliance with the order was not good. He had completed just eight out of 300 hours of unpaid work ordered in June and attended just three out of 24 hours at an attendance centre. Watkins had also been ordered to get a job.

She said some of his missed probation appointments were a result of the injury to his hand, which caused him significant pain.

“This is somebody who is still very young. He has, I recognise, committed an offence…but has now caused himself a permanent injury and that’s one of the main stumbling blocks to his compliance,” she said.

Watkins was given an 18-month community order with a requirement to complete 30 rehabilitation programme sessions and abide by a six month curfew. He has two years to pay £1,200 compensation to the store owner.