News / Fined for nudity and threatening Lounge barmaid
A SCAFFOLDER from Tyneside guilty of “quite shocking behaviour”, including taking all his clothes off in a Lerwick pub and threatening a female bartender until she feared for her own safety, has been fined £1,800.
Neil Barr, 33, of Aspen Place, South Shields, South Tyneside, admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, removing his clothing and walking around the Lounge Bar naked on 27 June this year.
Two of his friends, 40 year old Lee Donnelly of Lune Green, Jarrow, South Tyneside, and 33 year old Michael Ward, of Kingsway, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, were also fined a total of £960 and £360 respectively.
All three men lost their jobs as scaffolders as a result of the incident, which happened in the early evening.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Barr first became aggressive while waiting for the female bartender to serve him a drink.
He was asked to leave but refused to do so without Donnelly and Ward. The woman became “fearful for her safety” and again asked Barr to leave.
The three men went outside, where Barr kept dropping his trousers and exposing himself to others.
A second member of bar staff went indoors to see the female bartender looking “visibly upset”. The bar door then swung open and Barr came in fully naked.
As he was walking about another punter tried to warn Barr that he would lose his job and get arrested. He replied: “I don’t give a fuck.”
The police were then called. When told that he was under arrest, Barr became aggressive.
Three police officers took some time to subdue the “large, powerful man”. During that time Donnelly and Ward attempted to get in between the police and Barr.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said that Barr appreciates his behaviour was “unacceptable” and that he would “take umbrage if it happened in his own local”.
Liam McAllister, representing Donnelly and Ward, added that the duo were “deeply, deeply ashamed and embarrassed” after getting “caught up” in the situation.
Sheriff Philip Mann told the trio: “This is not the Wild West – it’s generally speaking a law-abiding place.”
All of their actions were “absolutely reprehensible” and it amounted to “quite shocking behaviour”.
Barr was fined £1,500 for his actions in the pub and £300 for resisting arrest and struggling with police officers.
Donnelly was fined £600 for threatening the Lounge’s female bartender.
He and Ward were each fined £360 for resisting, obstructing or hindering three police officers in the execution of their duty, attempting to release another man from lawful police custody and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and acting aggressively in Law Lane.
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