News Wrecked pub beer garden
A man was so incensed at being ordered to leave a pub that he ripped a patio heater out of the ground.
Gary Nicholls (32) flew into a drunken rage after the landlord at the Macintosh Arms in Goole told him to leave.
Mr Nicholls, who had earlier been banned from the pub, did as he was told on the first time of asking but came back to the pub several times. On the last occasion he became abusive to manager Richard Lockwood, who had gone outside to find Mr Nicholls arguing with his girlfriend, Katy Stannard.
Mr Lockwood shut the pub doors and called police but, as he looked out of a pub window to keep an eye on the pair, he saw Mr Nicholls wrench his patio heater out of the ground and drag it along the pavement.
When police arrived Mr Nicholls ran off down Aire Street. He was soon caught but it took four officers to restrain him.
Miss Stannard (25) then appeared, tried to pull one of the officers from her boyfriend, and was arrested herself.
On being arrested, Miss Stannard kicked a female police officer on the leg.
Appearing at Goole Magistrates' Court last week Mr Nicholls, of Chestnut Avenue, Airmyn, and Miss Stannard, of Derwent Road, Goole, sat together in the dock as prosecutor Julie Laverack-Glanville recounted the pair's drunken antics in the early hours of July 4.
She told the court how Mr Nicholls had managed to rip out the patio heater, worth £120, even though it had been secured to the ground.
This had caused Mr Lockwood to press his panic button and call police.
Mrs Laverack-Glanville described how, while some officers were trying to restrain Mr Nicholls, the female police constable was struggling to keep hold of Miss Stannard, so another police officer went over to help restrain her. This made Miss Stannard even more angry and she kicked the restraining officer on the shin.
A police van then came on the scene and the pair were arrested and taken to a police station to be quizzed.
In interview father-of-two Mr Nicholls refused to comment and his girlfriend said she couldn't remember what she had been doing because she was too drunk.
Mrs Laverack-Glanville said the heater had been permanently damaged and was no longer in use at the pub.
She added that the female police officer had suffered from soreness, aching and swelling to her arm and shin as a result of being assaulted by Miss Stannard.
David Branscombe, defending, said Mr Nicholls had gone to the pub to pick up his girlfriend after going to a party.
When he could not see Miss Stannard he stepped just inside the pub and waited for her, at which point the manager came over and told him to leave.
Mr Branscombe said ripping the patio heater up was a "silly prank" and that Mr Nicholls had simply intended to move it round the corner and, in Mr Nicholls' words, "teach him (Mr Lockwood) a lesson".
Miss Stannard had claimed that police used excessive force in arresting both her and Mr Nicholls.
Mr Nicholls - who magistrates advised to get counselling for his drinking at a previous court appearance earlier this year - was fined £150 after pleading guilty to criminal damage.
Magistrates also ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £55 as well as £120 compensation to Mr Lockwood and a £15 victim surcharge.
Miss Stannard, who admitted two counts of assaulting a police officer, was given a 12-month conditional discharge. She was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to the female police officer and £55 prosecution costs.
Published on 24th July 2008 in News.
Add to: Digg | del.icio.us | Reddit
Comments
There are currently no comments
Comments are closed for this article.