South Shields bouncer appears in court after customers assaulted outside of Life of Riley bar

A bouncer was caught on CCTV assaulting three punters outside a South Tyneside bar in attacks two weeks apart in January.
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Thomas Rice, 25, dragged his first victim from the Life of Riley pub in South Shields town centre and punched him three times in the head.

Rice, of Cornthwaite Drive, Whitburn, then assaulted two men in similar fashion during an incident exactly a fortnight later, South Tyneside Magistrates Court heard.

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Prosecutor Clare Irving said he put one in a choke hold, pulled him to the ground and repeatedly punched him.

Life of Riley.Life of Riley.
Life of Riley.

He then took hold of another who he kneed in the head and kicked in the face, borough magistrates were told.

The offences happened on Sunday, January 16, and Sunday, January 30.

Of Rice’s first attack, Mrs Irving told the court: “He was employed as a door supervisor at Life of Riley.

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“At 11.53pm, CCTV footage shows the defendant dragging a male customer outside and onto the pavement.

“He proceeds to punch him three times to the head. The male is in the foetal position and makes no attempt to defend himself.”

And Mrs Irving added: “At 1.22am on January 30, footage shows a disturbance and the door supervisor putting a male in a choke hold.

“He forces him to the ground from behind and there are four punches to the male.

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“He grabs another male and uses his knee three times to his head and kicks him to the face.”

Police quizzed Rice, who was given a suspended prison sentence for an assault in 2018, in mid-February about the attacks but he made no reply in interview.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of using threatening behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoking unlawful violence.

Val Bell, defending, said: “He describes he and other colleagues as being assaulted while carrying out their employment.

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“He accepts that on these occasions that while ejecting customers who had caused problems inside, he has gone too far.”

Magistrates adjourned the case for an all options report and Rice will now be sentenced at the same court on Tuesday, July 26.