Sir Keir Starmer faces a by-election nightmare after disgraced suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks in prison for brutally attacking a man in the street.

The Runcorn and Helsby MP is now under pressure to resign from the Commons, which would cause a by-election which Nigel Farage's reform hopes to win.

Amesbury pleaded guilty at a hearing in January to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of October 26.

A court heard Amesbury had been drinking before he arrived at a taxi rank, where Mr Fellows approached him to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.

Today Amesbury, wearing a dark suit and red tie, heard his sentence from the dock at Chester Magistrates' Court where Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said his actions were caused by "anger and loss of emotional control".

The magistrate said: "I have to say that I have seen a single punch to the head cause fatal injuries, but note the limited injuries in this case."

He told Amesbury: "Your position ought to be as a role model to others."

Mr Fellows said the MP took a step towards him and punched him the face, prosecutor Alison Storey told the hearing.

In a video of the incident Amesbury is heard to shout "what?" and is seen knocking Mr Fellow to the ground. The MP then followed his victim into the road, and punched him again at least five times.

The court heard Amesbury shouted at Mr Fellows, saying: "Don't you ever threaten me again. You won't threaten the MP ever again will you?"

A medical report into Mr Fellows' injuries showed he suffered a head injury and had reported a headache. He was seen at an urgent care centre, and also had an injury to the left elbow.

The magistrate said the immediate prisn sentence was "necessary both as a punishment and a deterrent". Amesbury was ordered to pay the victim's costs and was then escorted from the dock by ushers.

Amesbury was elected as a Labour MP last year and was suspended from the party following his arrest in October.

His Cheshire seat is in the north west where Reform is targeting a number of Labour-held constituencies including Ashton-under-Lyne, where the MP is Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Stalybridge and Hyde, currently represented by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

Reform UK is to pull out all the stops in a bid to strike a devastating blow to Labour and has already sent a letter to every house in the constituency, while Mr Farage has made a number of visits to the constituency.

If an MP is sent to prison or given a suspended sentence, they can face the prospect of losing his seat in the Commons.

A sentence of less than a year, even if it is suspended, leaves them him liable to the recall process, which would trigger a by-election if 10% of registered voters in aseat sign a petition calling for it.

A jail term of more than a year means an MP automatically losing their seat.

Speaking after an earlier court hearing, a Labour Party spokesman said: "It is right that Mike Amesbury has taken responsibility for his unacceptable actions."

Amesbury joined Labour at the age of about 17 and has said he was inspired to back the party because of the miners' strikes. He is a former Manchester councillor who worked senior parliamentary adviser to MP Angela Rayner, now deputy prime minister, and for Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham when Mr Burnham was an MP.