Kieran Egan hit David Hallatt when the beloved dad stepped in to stop a fight outside the Dolphin and Anchor in Chichester.
Terrified drinkers at the Wetherspoons pub looked on as Mr Hallatt tried to break up the brawl between Egan and his drunk friend on June 20.
Egan hit the 57-year-old once in the face causing him to fall backwards.
Witnesses described the punch as sounding louder than a gunshot.
The tiler from Sheffield never regained consciousness after cracking his head on the pavement.
Egan, 30, was cleared of murder by a jury in Hove today (January 7) after he admitted manslaughter.
He wiped tears from his eyes and was visibly shaking in the dock.
“Mr Hallatt did no more than approach and appeal to him for the fighting to stop,” John Price KC, for the prosecution, previously told the court.
Another drinker said he heard David Hallatt say: “Stop fighting, he’s drunk, please, please, he doesn’t mean it.”
He died where he fell, fracturing his skull and causing massive damage to his brain, Mr Price said.
The jury was shown three-and-a-half minutes of CCTV footage described as shocking and distressing from the pub.
Witnesses said Egan looked riled up and full of adrenaline.
The court heard the argument started inside the pub and then spilled out onto the street on the warm summer evening following England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark at Euro 2024.
Pub manager Jacob Carroll saw the punch standing just a few feet away, from inside the doorway.
“I have watched a lot of boxing and done hospitality work. It was like a smack, a thud all in one,” he said.
Bar manager Kloee Worboyes saw and heard the punch.
She told police: “The punch to the victim is the loudest punch and him hitting the floor that I ever seen in my life.
“Working in a pub I’ve seen fights and sometimes box myself for charity events.
“The fights I’ve seen before at the pub have always been scruffy, but this was not.
“What else is there that is louder than a gunshot?”
Emergency services battled to save Mr Hallatt outside the pub.
A post-mortem two days later revealed the cause of death as blunt force head injury, Horsham coroner’s court heard.
Mr Hallatt’s family said he will be forever in their broken hearts.
They described Mr Hallatt as a devoted family man.
“David was so violently taken from us,” they said.
“He was married for 25 years with two young daughters, aged 20 and 22.
“He lived for his family, and he loved his work as a tiler travelling the country.
“He played the electric guitar, and was an avid football and rock music fan.”
His wife Sadie and daughters Rosie and Sally said he would be “forever in our broken hearts”.
His friend Dyce Barnfield was also cleared of murder and walked free from court.
Egan will be sentenced later for manslaughter.
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