Bar manager fined £400 for bursting customer’s nose in pub brawl

Perth Sheriff Court: Cameron McIntosh and Fraser Mackintosh were fined for assault.

A hotel bar manager burst a customer's nose by punching him as a mass brawl spilled out into the street during an Old Firm game.

Patrons at the Royal Hotel in Comrie, Perth and Kinross, had been watching Celtic beat Rangers 1-0 when tensions between supporters grew.

Bar manager Cameron McIntosh, 32, left Christopher Adam with a bleeding nose after punching him in the face.

Co-accused Fraser Mackintosh, 31, attacked another customer, Darren Williamson, and both were charged with carrying out sectarian attacks on 28 December last year.

Fiscal depute Stuart Richardson told Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday: "It all started off at 9pm in this hotel. Mr Williamson is a regular visitor to the area. He and Fraser Mackintosh fell out inside the hotel and the accused took hold of him and punched him a number of times.

“The hotel was quite busy and this caused a bit of a rumpus which spread outside the hotel. Mr Adam had not been involved at all, but he knew Mr Williamson, and when it spread outside he tried to intervene. It was then that Cameron McIntosh punched him on the face. His nose started to bleed but he didn't need medical attention."

Cameron McIntosh admitted assaulting Christopher Adam while Fraser Mackintosh admitted assaulting Darren Williamson. Both had the sectarian aggravation dropped by the Crown.

Solicitor John McLaughlin, for McIntosh, said: "He is the bar manager of the hotel and was there that night as a patron, rather than an employee. There was an incident earlier. Staff who worked with Mr McIntosh put people out the bar. My client assisted in this and was struck by a punch from behind. He mistakenly believed Mr Adam struck him. He bitterly regrets getting involved. His employers have retained him and accept that this was out of character."

Both men, of Perth and Kinross, were fined £400.

Solicitor David Holmes, for Mackintosh, said his client's recollection of events had been dimmed because he, like most in the bar, had drunk a significant amount of alcohol. "At the age of 31 he should know better," he told the court.

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