A neighbour who intervened in an argument at her Shooters Hill block of flats was branded a "black slag", punched in the face and had her window kicked in by a drunken lout.

Lee Cook was arguing with his girlfriend in the communal hallway of their Shooters Hill Road last November when a woman came out of a neighbouring flat and asked him to be quiet

Bromley Magistrates' Court was told the 34-year-old, currently living in Hadley Drive, Kidbrooke, had been drinking and pushed her away, yelling: "You black slag."

The lift engineer and father-of-three then punched the woman twice, who retreated into her home, only for Cook to smash his foot through her living room window.

He told the court on May 21: "All I can say is I apologise to start with. It's not my normal actions, it's not my normal attitude."

Cook, who was convicted of common assault but admitted racially aggravated criminal damage along with using threatening words and behaviour, was given a three-month suspended sentence and ordered to undertake 240 hours of unpaid work.