Saved by the Bell actor Dustin Diamond starts jail sentence

Diamond played Screech in 90s teen sitcom

Dustin Diamond, with his fiancee Amanda Schutz and her attorney walk out of the coutroom after a split verdict in an Ozaukee County Courthouse May 29, 2015 (Getty Images )

Dustin Diamond has started his prison sentence after being convicted over a bar fight.

Diamond, 38, was sentenced to four months in prison for an altercation at a bar in Wisconsin, US. He was convicted of two misdemeanours: carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct.

He was due to begin his sentence in June, but a judge put it on hold until he began his trial.

Diamond had told the jury he took out a pocketknife during the altercation to protect his girlfriend Amanda Schutz alone after she was punched in the face, and accidentally stabbed the man.