CLERMONT-FERRAND, France (AFP) - A French barman got a suspended jail sentence Wednesday after he was convicted of manslaughter for letting a man do 56 shots during a drinking contest that led to his death.

Renaud Prudhomme, 56, broke the in-house shots record last October at Starter, a bar in the central French town of Clermont-Ferrand.

He had spent the evening with his daughter and some friends who helped him home, but they soon had to phone the emergency services.

Prudhomme, a large man weighing around 120 kilos (260 pounds), died in hospital the following day.

Barman Gilles Crepin, 47, admitted at an earlier hearing that he had made "a mistake" by displaying the shots record on a noticeboard, encouraging the victim to go too far.

He was given a four-month suspended sentence by a local court on Wednesday and banned from working in a bar for a year.

His lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

"It's a decision guided by emotion and the unconscious desire to set an example," said Renaud Portejoie, who had called for the case to be thrown out.

Portejoie said his client bore no responsibility, adding that it was the man's daughter who had pushed him to break the record, and that he had existing respiratory problems.

"We can't ask every customer who buys alcohol to present their medical certificates," said Portejoie.