[Matt]

FORMER Big Brother contestant Charlie Drummond has been jailed over a violent street attack.

The once popular housemate, who came fourth in the show in 2009, left Jamie Ritchie with a fractured leg and dislocated ankle after the early hours assault.

As a result of the violence, Mr Ritchie’s foot was left “facing the wrong way” and needed three operations, with four months in plaster, to correct.

Newcastle Crown Court heard former Mr Gay UK runner-up Drummond, originally from Cleadon, may have wrongly believed Mr Ritchie and his friends were laughing at him and his pals, as they passed in the street.

Mr Ritchie, who had actually been laughing at himself after accidentally walking into a lamp post, gave evidence during Drummond’s trial.

Drummond, who the court heard had lost his job at Barclays Bank and is deep in debt, had denied causing grievous bodily harm, but was convicted by a jury.

Mr Ritchie, 32, told the court he and his friends were heading home in the early hours of April 14 last year after a night out, when they were attacked.

A teenager who was with Drummond’s group initially attacked one of Mr Ritchie’s friends, before the violence turned on him.

Full story: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/c...rlie-1-6411429