Embarrassed Kirkby boozer attacked man who warned him he shouldn’t drink-drive

Joshua Shelton left The Duke of Wellington pub, on Church Street, in the early hours of New Year's Day, and Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard, his victim tried to tell him he could not drive because he had had too much to drink.

Daniel Pietryka, prosecuting, said Shelton got into his Volvo and reversed into a parked car.

He got out and grabbed the man by the neck and banged his head against a glass panel in the pub door causing it to crack.

The victim staggered backwards with a cut scalp and watched Shelton get back in his car and drive off.

Police arrested him at a nearby addressm but he failed to complete the breathalyser test and refused to provide a blood sample.

The court heard he has one previous conviction for assaulting a police officer from 2018.

Mr Pietryka said Shelton has already paid £300 to repair the window and carried out free tree-surgery work for the landlady.

Shelton, aged 33, of Greenwood Drive, admitted failing to stop after a road accident, assault by beating, criminal damage and refusing to provide a sample,.

Chris Perry, mitigating, said: "He embarrassed himself by damaging the car and said the other man was calling him names and making hand gestures.

“He shoved the man, but it wasn't a sustained attack and there was no intention to cause harm.

“He has really got himself in a pickle because of his conduct. He is not only remorseful, he wants to offer reparations.”

Mr Perry said Shelton, who was wounded in Afganistan, “has seen his fair share of death and destruction”.

He struggled with his mental health after returning to civillian life and his business as a tree surgeon will be hit because of the inevitable driving ban, Mr Perry added.

Shelton was fined £666, ordered to pay £200 compensation and banned from driving for 20 months, but a rehabilitation course will reduce the disqualification by 20 weeks if he completes it before February 2024.