A MAN was told he should be ashamed of his behaviour after he admitted punching a bar manager during a family christening.

Stuart Christopher Gary Whales, 29, of Sealand Avenue in Garden City, appeared before North East Wales magistrates in Mold.

He admitted having assaulted Ian Duckers at Saltney Social Club on June 2, as well as breaking a pair of glasses belonging to Mr Duckers on the same date.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told the court that 53-year-old Mr Duckers, the bar manager at the social club in High Street, had been working on the day of the incident.

A christening event with about 60 guests was taking place at the club and he had stepped outside in the afternoon when he spotted two men in the smoking area.

Mr Duckers saw a man in his 20s, who was later identified as Whales, behaving in an “aggressive” manner towards the other man, who was described as being in his 50s and was later identified as Whales’ father.

Whales was seen to grab his father before they both began shouting at each other, at which point Mr Duckers said he feared the situation was “turning nasty” and he attempted to calm both men.

Mrs Jackson said Whales initially walked away, but then returned and became abusive towards Mr Duckers before punching him in the face.

The prosecutor added: “He was punched with such force that he landed on the ground. His glasses were forced off and he felt pain in his cheek.”

The glasses, Mr Jackson said, were broken in he incident.

Whales was apprehended by police officers and at interview he said he was unable to recall the events and that he had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident.

Mrs Jackson told the court that at the time of the incident Whales was subject to an ongoing community order, which was due to end in December.

Gary Harvey, defending, said: “He does not remember anything about it and he is very remorseful.

“He suffers from ADHD and drinking doesn’t help him. You can see from this offence that it has made his behaviour worse.

“He hasn’t been drinking since and he has sorted things out with his father. He recognises it was wholly unacceptable.”

Lady Sally Kenyon, chairing the magistrates, told Whales: “It was a dreadful thing to do.

“It is unacceptable behaviour anywhere, but at a family christening - you should be ashamed of yourself.

“We don’t want to see you here again.”

She ordered Whales to pay court costs of £85, a fine of £80, a victim surcharge of £85 and compensation of £70 for the broken glasses, as well as £100 compensation for the damage to Mr Duckers’ face.

Whales was also made the subject of a new 12 month community order with an extra 10 days of rehabilitation work and he must undertake 240 hours of unpaid work.

He is also excluded from Saltney Social Club for a year.