Hairdresser struck ‘innocent’ postman

A HAIRDRESSER who lost his cool with a “completely innocent” postman and ended up striking him was fined when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Dylan Lennon, 44, of Park Wynd, Sandwick, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, making threats and hitting the postman at the Toll Clock Shopping Centre on 5 June last year.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie outlined an “extended” incident prompted by “some sort of physical coming together” in the doorway of the shopping centre’s Olive Tree café. 

Unusually for an incident of this nature, the fiscal said, the postman had no prior knowledge of the accused and had simply been “going about his business”.

It seemed that Lennon had put his foot out to trip the postman, MacKenzie said. As the postman was leaving the café having delivered its mail, Lennon told him “next time the words are ‘fucking excuse me’”.

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He subsequently squared up to the postman outside other shops, saying “this isn’t over – I’ll get you later”.

Lennon eventually returned to the Olive Tree where his partner sought to pacify him. But he spotted the postman again and ran out of the café shouting, eventually striking him on the forehead.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Lennon suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of abuse suffered when he was younger.

The incident occurred immediately after Lennon had attended a therapy appointment.

That had left him “extremely raw emotionally” and, Allan said, the physical contact with the postman had caused physical pain to Lennon, who suffers from psoriasis.

Sheriff Philip Mann said that, while his post-traumatic stress may have contributed to what happened, it did not excuse “a disgraceful piece of behaviour”.

He fined Lennon £600, reduced from £700 to reflect his guilty plea.