Man who butted licensee avoids prison

A 26-year-old Shrewsbury man who butted a licensee because he was angry at being asked to leave the pub has avoided a jail term.

Thomas Langley, of York Road, Harlescott, was banned from the Bush pub.

The incident in the pub in Abbey Foregate happened on June 20.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday he was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, after previously admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was also ordered to obey a curfew from 10pm to 6am for four months and go on an offender substance misuse programme.

No separate penalty was given for a charge of obstructing a police constable.

Miss Deborah Cox, prosecuting, said: "The injured party was Stuart Pullen, licensee of the Bush in Abbey Foregate.

"At about 11.30pm on June 20, 2009, he became aware a group of men had entered his pub and some of them had gone into the ladies' toilets, carrying what appeared to be a clear bag with white powder in it.

"He went over to the group, told them they were barred and asked them to leave.

"He began to take their glasses away and they began to argue with him."

The court heard Mr Pullen said he did not want drugs in his pub and Langley said "are you calling me a smack-head?" before head-butting Mr Pullen.

He then ran from the pub and was violent when officers later tried to apprehend him after recognising him from a description given to police.

Mr Mike Sherwood-Smith, for Langley, said there wasn't a great deal of mitigation he could offer.

"Clearly alcohol played a significant part and one cannot discount the effect of the drugs that had been taken as well," he added.

Jude Nicolas Mitchell said he would give Langley "one last opportunity to sort himself out".