Man fined after pleading guilty to assault at Ritz
A man has been fined £200 and ordered to pay compensation after he smashed a glass panel as he was being thrown out of the luxury Ritz Hotel in London following a row with his girlfriend.
Rhys Weatherburn, aged 20, was also ordered to carry out rehabilitation work with alcohol specialists.
He had pleaded guilty to one count of common assault and one count of criminal damage.
Westminster Magistrates Court heard that security staff ejected Weatherburn after he attacked Shannon Fidge insisde a room at the London hotel on Valentine’s Day.
Weatherburn, from Kent, had booked the room at the exclusive hotel as a romantic gesture, but he pushed his girlfriend on to the bed and shook her following a row over dinner about her contact with an ex-boyfriend.
As Weatherburn was removed from the hotel by security, he kicked a glass panel and smashed it.
He was sentenced to a community order including 48 days working with alcohol specialists.
Weatherburn was also fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs, £100 victim compensation and a £60 victim surcharge.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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