Gerard Joseph Kelly, of the Earl Grey, swore at a group of customers, some of whom had gone into the pub to watch the Uefa Champions League match between Liverpool and Roma but had not bought drinks.
Kelly (51) shouted that the pub had paid money to screen the game and told the man who did not want to buy an alcoholic drink: ‘I don’t care if you are driving, get a f***ing drink or get the f**k out.’
Outlining the case, police legal adviser Simon Crowder said that the victim was among a group of men who went into the busy First Tower pub at about 7.30 pm on 4 April.
He said that the victim had been to a cricket club barbecue all day but had not been drinking as he was a designated driver.
Mr Crowder said that the landlord came from behind the bar to approach the group to see if they had all purchased drinks. The defendant was described as ‘acting aggressively for no real reason’.
The court heard that two of the men had not bought a drink and Kelly told them to ‘get a f***ing drink or get out’ and asked them ‘are you taking the f***ing micky?’
Mr Crowder said that Kelly aimed his attention at the victim, telling him to get a drink. At one point the victim told Kelly he could not force him to buy an alcoholic drink but said that
he would purchase a soft drink.
Kelly then grabbed hold of the victim by an arm and dragged him away from his friends to the middle of the pub. ‘The defendant was pulling the victim backwards by pulling him by the arms and the victim felt he was being pulled out of the door,’ said Mr Crowder. He added that at no point did the victim refuse to leave.
The defendant, who admitted assault, was ordered to pay £150 compensation for damaging the man’s jacket.
When questioned by police, Kelly said his employer’s, Randalls, had paid £750 for the football to be screened and that ‘he wasn’t a charity’. He said that when he asked people in the group if they had bought a drink, they ignored him.
Kelly, a pub landlord for 20 years who has run the Earl Grey for nine years, told police he had been grabbed from behind and, acting in self-defence, he grabbed the victim’s arm. He denied being aggressive.
Advocate Estelle Burns, defending, said that the Earl Grey was a ‘working man’s pub’ and the defendant regularly swore in the bar. She said her client accepted that he over-reacted and had made an error of judgment. ‘He has been in the licensing trade for 20 years and has an unblemished record. He apologises to all concerned and he did not intend to cause any injury,’ she said.
In sentencing, Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris: ‘As a licensee you are responsible for good order and I am sure on many an occasion you have had to bite your tongue and count to ten in dealing with someone who is being unreasonable. Physically pulling someone is not the way to deal with it.’
