Man arrested after row when he was refused entry into McDonald's in South Shields with his dog

Michael Fox, 43, of Australia Grove, Brockley Whins, kicked up such a stink around McDonald’s in King Street, South Shields, that police were called, and he was ordered from the area.

When he refused to comply, he was issued with a section 35 direction, a legal notice requiring him to leave – and then arrested after continued non-compliance, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

Due to what the court was told was his “unimpressive intransigence”, he spent the next eight hours in police cells.

Fox, who has 92 convictions from 186 offences, committed the offence at 8.10pm on Friday, December 27, the court heard.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “He’s in the town centre, he’s in King Street and appears to have been causing some trouble around McDonald’s, so police say: ‘You’re going to have leave the town centre’. He refuses and is issued with an order.

“He’s managed to keep himself out of trouble for the whole of last year. He was given a community order in 2018. With his record, he seems to have done quite well. It’s a relatively minor offence.”

David Forrester, defending, said: “It’s because he won’t leave the town centre. He had his dog with him, he was drinking.

“The police said: ‘You’re not leaving under your own steam, you’re leaving with us’. He’s had the best part of seven to eight hours in a police station due to this unimpressive intransigence.

“McDonald’s staff didn’t want his dog in the restaurant, that’s the nuts and bolts of it.”

Fox, who pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a section 35 direction excluding a person from an area, was given an absolute discharge by the court.

Lorraine Montgomery, chair of the magistrates’ bench, said: “It’s an unusual case. You caused a big nuisance to people who were eating in McDonald’s.

“You broke the order that you shouldn’t have been there, you were drunk. For heaven’s sake, keep out of trouble.”