Kiwi headbutted man over accent

Kerry William Kane was given a suspended sentence at Brisbane Magistrates Court. Photo / AAP

A Kiwi who head-butted a man in Queensland after thinking his New Zealand accent was being mocked has narrowly avoided jail.

Kerry William Kane, 21, admitted the early morning Anzac Day assault at Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday, the Courier-Mail newspaper reported.

The court heard that Kane, originally from Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, was lining up inside a Fortitude Valley convenience store in Brisbane about 12.15am on April 25 this year when he thought he heard people making fun of his Kiwi accent.

When the slaughterman, who is now living in Darwin, began to leave the store, he head-butted a man he thought was responsible for the ribbing, the paper reported.

The victim was unconscious for 15 minutes before being rushed to hospital by ambulance.

"It was pure luck he was caught by witnesses before his head hit the ground," the Courier-Mail reported Magistrate Anne Thacker as saying.

"The problem is young men like you are going drinking down in Fortitude Valley and causing harm to other people.

"This is not acceptable behaviour. It is simply not tolerated."

Police soon caught up with Kane who admitted the assault.

He was ordered to pay the victim $800 in compensation and was sentenced to nine months in prison, wholly suspended for 15 months.

If Kane had been sentenced in New South Wales, he would have faced a mandatory jail term.