Christiaan Briggs, whose attack in North London earlier this year on Les Incompetents frontman Billy Leeson left the singer in a coma, has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to eight months in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The incident occurred in June aboard a bus in Camden. The court heard that Leeson (19) was traveling home from a gig with his girlfriend when she complained that Briggs (30) was staring at her. Leeson asked Briggs to “look elsewhere” and there followed an exchange of words. All three then left the bus at the same stop and it was here that Briggs punched Leeson on the cheek.

Leeson sustained head injuries in the resulting fall and fell into a coma and had to undergo surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. He was in hospital for a total of six weeks and has had to learn to walk again. His band also split, though they have said that this was planned before the attack.

Christiaan Briggs, who describes himself as a “draughtsperson, designer, uncle and some might say political activist”, is originally from New Zealand. He has been heavily involved with protests against the war in Iraq, including travelling to Iraq in 2003 to form part of a human shield (documented in his blog - last-straw.net).

Judge Peter Birts acknowledged that Briggs had shown “genuine remorse” but that a prison sentence was inevitable.