A TEENAGER who battered a man with a tin of dog food has been locked up.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how the man needed 10 stitches after being left with three massive gashes in his head after being attacked by 19-year-old Christopher Feeney.

The thug is this week beginning a stretch behind bars after Sheriff John Herald jailed him for 12 months for the serious assault.

He told Feeney: 'You assaulted a vulnerable man in the early hours of the morning and a tin of dog food is every bit as much of a weapon as a knife or a hammer when used in this way.

'I had told you I was willing to defer sentence on this matter if you didn"t commit any other offence but you breached your bail in May.

'At the time I promised what would happen if you did this and I am a man who keeps his promises. You will be sent to detention for 12 months.' Depute fiscal Pat Callander explained how the victim had been drinking with friends at his home on Wellpark Buildings in Greenock on 30 August last year when Feeney called round.

She added: 'The accused arrived just before 2am and an argument started between the two men over the use of a mobile phone. The accused then struck the complainer twice on the head with a tin of dog food, causing three lacerations, two measuring 4cm and one measuring 6cm.' The court heard how the man was rushed to hospital by ambulance where his wounds required more than 10 stitches to close.

Feeney, of Nicolson Street, Greenock, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assaulting his victim by repeatedly striking him in the head with the tin can to his severe injury.

The case called for sentencing as Feeney, represented by defence solicitor Ellen Macdonald, appeared before Sheriff Herald yesterday.