A BARROW man who kicked a young seagull to death after a seven-hour drinking binge claimed he was angry...

...after breaking up with his girlfriend. 

Aurismas Nikitinas, 27, from Harrogate Street in Barrow appeared at Furness Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to killing a wild bird.

The court heard that in the early hours of July 5 Nikitinas was walking down Dalkeith Street in Barrow with some friends. 

When seeing the bird, a young lesser black backed gull, on the ground he decided to kick it. 

Mr Steven Marsh, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said: "At around 3.40am a police officer received reports from a member of the public that a man had just kicked a young seagull to death. 

"The police officer approached the defendant and asked him if he had kicked the seagull and the defendant said yes he had. 

"The officer said the defendant seemed to find the whole thing funny and didn't see what all the fuss was about." 

Mr Marsh explained that when Nikitinas was interviewed he admitted that he was drunk and had just split up with his girlfriend. 

He said: "He apologised and said he would never do it again, he said that he had been walking home with some friends and he was being stupid. 

"He didn't know why he kicked the bird." 

Miss Amy Watkin, defending, told the court that Nikitinas had accepted full responsibility for his actions and remained fully apologetic. 

She said: "He had consumed a large amount of alcohol over a seven-hour period and he had also had some emotional trauma because of his relationship ending. 

"This resulted in him having an impaired judgement. He had no previous convictions and this is the first time he has experienced a police interview or being in court." 

Miss Watkin also explained that Nikitinas came to the country three years ago from Lithuania and immediately found work. 

Presiding magistrate, Robert Maddock, voiced his concerns that Nikitinas did not fully understand the proceedings so has requested a Lithuanian interpreter to attend the sentencing. 

He said: "We have listened to what has been said here today and we are worried about two things, the first is that perhaps you do not understand enough and the second thing is that you have not had good professional legal advice yet. 

"Because of this we have decided to adjourn the case for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. 

"The bench is not terribly happy with what has gone on today, we are only adjourning this because of the potential seriousness of what could be the sentence for this crime. 

"In the interest of justice we need to make 100 per cent sure that you understand everything that's going on." 

Mr Maddock adjourned the case until January 28, to allow time for a pre-sentence report to be prepared and a Lithuanian interpreter to be made available.