The ex-boyfriend of a noisy neighbour whose bongos were seized by the council has escaped being sent straight to prison for assaulting her.

Double amputee Chris Lindo, 39, hit Sharon Nesbitt twice during a row in April.

He went to see her at her home in Halland Road, Brighton, but they fell out after she said she still loved him.

Lindo, of Ellen Road, Hove, told the jury at Brighton Crown Court that he acted in self-defence after she hit him but he was found guilty of common assault The Argus revealed last month how unemployed Nesbitt kept her neighbours awake by drumming her bongos through the night.

The 39-year-old alcoholic also made their lives hell by shouting, slamming doors and playing loud music in her one-bedroom flat.

Lindo was ordered to pay Nesbitt £100 compensation for assaulting her when he appeared at Brighton Crown Court for sentence yesterday.

He was also given a four month prison sentence suspended for a year and was ordered to pay £400 towards costs.