Landlady used rugby tackle to floor punter

Olivia Garner threw herself on top of Andrew Charles Prinold in the car park of the Honeysuckle Inn in Newport after he was thrown out following an argument.

Prinold, 31, admitted possessing an offensive weapon in a public place at the start of his trial at Telford Magistrates Court.

Mrs Harminder Hayre, prosecuting, said that on March 8 last year, the day before the incident, Prinold had been thrown out of the pub after an argument.

The police had been called to the pub on that night but the defendant had already left the premises.

Mrs Hayre said that the following day, staff at the pub had phoned Prinold to tell him he was barred and was no longer welcome there as a result of his behaviour the previous night.

But the defendant returned to the pub that evening and another confrontation took place, and Ms Garner put herself between the two men, the court was told.

Prinold was seen to walk across the pub car park to his vehicle and take a wheel brace out of the front passenger seat, said Mrs Hayre.

Mrs Garner then crossed the car park and rugby tackled Prinold to the ground so he was unable to get back inside before police officers arrived, the court was told.

Officers searched Prinold who was found to still be in possession of the wheel brace.

Mrs Hayre said that Prinold later told officers that he had been headbutted during a row in the pub and as he could not fight back due to a broken hand, he had gone to get the wheelbrace.

The court was told that Prinold, of Adbaston, near Stafford, had previous criminal convictions but none that were recent or relevant to the case.

Magistrates adjourned sentencing for the preparation of a report. The case will next be heard on March 20.

Mr Steven Meredith, for Prinold, said that his client did not accept that he had gone back to the car to arm himself, but accepted that he did have the wheel brace on his person at the time of the arrest.

"It was not used, it was not wielded, it has not been threatened at anybody," said Mr Meredith.

He added that Prinold had been considering a job in the USA, but this recent criminal conviction could put his visa in jeopardy.