Celebration turns sour for man

A homeless man celebrating an offer of housing following his release from prison ended up in a Lincoln court after his partying got out of hand.

Shaun Cassidy (39) threw punches at door staff after being thrown out of the Walkabout pub, in High Street, Lincoln, just before 1am yesterday.

Lincoln Magistrates' Court heard he had been helping himself to drinks from the bar.

The court heard Cassidy had been homeless in Lincoln since July 14 when he was released after three-and-half months on remand. No evidence on a charge of witness intimidation was offered at Lincoln Crown Court and he walked free.

Cassidy admitted disorderly behaviour on July 22.

Sunil Khanna, in mitigation, explained that Cassidy was celebrating a housing offer from the ex-offenders' charity NACRO.

"Thankfully, no-one was hurt," he said.

"He swung a few punches but nothing landed. He's very sorry for what he's done."

The offence placed him in breach of an eight week custody term suspended for 12 months imposed in March for affray.

Magistrates fined him £50 and added two months to the suspension period.

For more stories from Lincoln's courts, see Thursday's Echo.