A HEALTH and safety consultant has been sentenced after assaulting two police officers and subjecting pub staff to a torrent of abuse during a night out in Haverfordwest.

Daniel Watson, 36, had been drinking at The Lost Coins on the evening of April 24 when he launched into a verbal tirade against two members of staff.

“The defendant had been drinking and became angry with the staff,” Crown Prosecutor Ann Griffiths told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He continued shouting and swearing at them, and kept repeatedly hitting the table.”

Despite his behaviour, Watson proceeded to order a meal, but once it arrived, he again became verbally abusive.

“His behaviour made the staff feel unsafe in their job,” said Ms Griffiths. “Members of the public who were at the pub became stressed by his language and behaviour.”

Police were called to the scene and upon their arrival, Watson turned his aggression towards the officers. He pushed one officer in the chest and pulled another by her hands, causing her to fall to the ground. The incident was captured on body-worn video footage shown to the court. Neither officer was injured.

Watson, of Rowan Drive, Heybridge, pleaded guilty to two charges of using threatening, abusive and insulting words and behaviour towards pub staff, two charges of assaulting emergency workers, and one charge of resisting a police officer.

The court heard that Watson had arrived in Pembrokeshire earlier that day for work as a self-employed Health and Safety consultant.

Probation officer Julie Norman told the court: “He had checked into a local hotel and then went to The Lost Coins where he drank around ten pints of lager. He accepts that he has issues with binge drinking, because sometimes when he goes out, he doesn’t know when to stop.”

Watson was sentenced to an 18-month community order. He must complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days and a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring programme. He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to each police officer, £85 in prosecution costs and a £114 court surcharge.