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| Fined: Footitt & Hayman |
Two drunken England rugby fans, who dragged a Burger King employee over the counter after one of them mockingly filmed him cleaning up, were fined yesterday.
Construction site conveyer belt fitter Ben Hayman, 29, of Fallowfield, Warmley, Bristol and electrician Will Footitt, 29, of Bath Road, Bridge Yate, Bristol had each consumed approximately ten pints of beer each.
Both pleaded guilty at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court to assaulting Parvat Bishwakarma on November 17, last year after watching the England v Japan international at Twickenham.
Hayman was fined £375 and Footitt £187.50.
There was no order for costs or compensation to the victim, who failed to attend the trial.
Both defendants were found not guilty of an allegation the assault was racially aggravated and they were also cleared along with Hayman’s father Martin Hayman, 61, of Fallowfield, Warmley of causing an affray at Burger King in London Road, Twickenham.
The jury unanimously acquitted Martin of assaulting customer Ciara Wilszur.
Recorder Alexandra Healy QC told the pair: “You spent the afternoon drinking and by the time you arrived at Burger King you were drunk and made a thorough nuisance of yourselves.
“You entered a private staff area and said you were Health and Safety and that you were starting work there the next day and you Ben Hayman climbed onto the counter and you Will Footitt decided to film one of the staff.
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| Not Guilty: Martin Hayman |
“That employee was cleaning up and was intimidated by you filming him and decided to snatch your phone and you Will Footitt grabbed him and pulled him across the counter and you Ben Hayman joined in.
“He was only trying to do his job at the end of a long shift and didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
“I take into account you are both men of good character, your expressions of remorse and your character references.”
The defendants always insisted they were doing nothing more aggressive then singing rugby anthem ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot’ at their table before the trouble started and never uttered racist insults or claimed to be immigration.
Prosecutor Mr. Roger Daniells-Smith told the court yesterday: “There are no injuries. This is the lowest end of common assault and the complainant was not interested enough to attend court apart from providing a statement to the police.”
The prosecution abandoned the affray and racially aggravated charges during the trial due to a lack of evidence.
Ben Hayman admitted the assault during the trial, Footitt having pleaded guilty before it started.
Ben Hayman’s lawyer Mr. Mark Sahu said: “There was a member of staff holding his leg and since this incident on the rare occasions he has been in public houses he is a changed person as a direct consequence.
“He has had worry and anxiety and during the trial he showed me an online Bristol Post headline about ‘racist rugby thugs’.
“He has paid quite a price given the nature of this common assault and has paid nearly seven thousand pounds in legal bills and the family as a whole have paid over twenty thousand to fight this case.”
Footitt’s lawyer Mr. Richard Padley said: “He accepts it was an over reaction to Mr. Bishwakarma taking his phone from him.
“This case was reported in the local press and having spoken to his customers he has lost six weeks of work as a result.”
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