A DRUNKEN argument led to a Barrow man bloodying his girlfriend’s nose while standing behind a bar with his trousers around his ankles.

Matthew Alan Watkin assaulted Debbie Creighton as she tried to stop him leaving a pub following the dispute, Furness and District Magistrates Court heard yesterday. The 23-year-old, of Grantley Road, Barrow, pleaded guilty to charges of assault by beating and criminal damage of £100, despite the victim having formally withdrawn her statement and vouching for his good nature.

Mr Peter Kelly, prosecuting, told the court Watkin had been out drinking in the Tally Ho pub in Barrow on Friday May 5, trying to ease his pain regarding the anniversary of a tragic bereavement several years ago. After becoming increasingly upset, Mr Kelly added, the defendant picked up two bar stools and threw them against a wall.

Watkin then went around behind the bar, where his girlfriend was working, and an argument began between the two of them.

Mr Kelly said: “His then-girlfriend, who has some sort of managerial role is there, and at one point there has been physical contact and she has sustained a bloodied, swollen nose as a result of contact between the defendant’s head and her head.”

Mr Trystan Roberts, defending, told the court Watkin had gone behind the bar to try and access a room behind the back which he and his girlfriend regularly shared, to collect his belongings and leave.

Mr Roberts said: “His partner then attempts to stop him leaving. At one stage his trousers are around his ankles, she has tight hold of his sweater, and he moves his head forward as he’s trying to free himself.

“In her retraction statement she tells the police this is completely out of character for him, it’s not happened before and it’s not likely to happen again. There’s a great deal of remorse on behalf of this defendant. He knows it’s gone too far, he knows what he did was wrong and he bitterly regrets it.

“He was trying to leave the premises and was prevented from doing so.”

The court heard the victim wanted no compensation for either the assault or the cost of the bar stools, having explained that the pub had been due for refurbishment and the furniture would have had to be replaced anyway.

District judge, Gerald Chalk, handed Watkin a 12-month community order comprising 100 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “This is an offence aggravated by the fact that this is someone you allegedly cared about.”

Watkin will also pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85.

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