AN EX-RAF serviceman who hacked into a rival's website designed to reunite members of the armed forces has escaped a jail sentence.

John Thornley hacked into Trowbridge businessman Dom-inic Hayhoe's website, Forces Reunited, under the codename Harry Potter and uploaded files to wipe out 1,500 client details.

Magistrates at Chippenham compared the hacking to a playground fight at a hearing on Tuesday, sentencing 30-year-old Thornley to 60 hours' community service and ordering him to pay £520 compensation.

Prosecutor Colin Meeke said Mr Hayhoe, who runs the site from offices in Church Street, would have lost most of his business if he had not made backup files.

"It is not clear how many members or enquiries were lost as a result," Mr Meeke said.

"He (Thornley) described his actions to police as a playground fight that got out of control."

Defence solicitor Richard Williams said Thornley had engaged in a "tit for tat" fight as an act of retaliation.

"He knew what he was doing, but he did not know his act was illegal. Morally wrong, yes, but criminally wrong, no," he said.

Thornley of Eccleston, Chorley, admitted four counts of unauthorised modification of computer material at an earlier hearing.