Tour bus driver to musicians and celebrities threw beer can at woman in South Shields pub after she rejected his advances, court told

Ian Davidson carried out the offence in town centre bar The Scotia, and knocked the woman off her bar stool, magistrates in South Tyneside were told Prosecutors claimed Davidson, 37, of Cook Close, South Shields, lashed out in frustration that she did not want a sexual relationship with him.

His victim also told police she feared he had become obsessed with her, which had left her feeling “sick and stressed”.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson told borough magistrates the offence happened on Wednesday, August 31. He added: “Both parties were in The Scotia pub. She was out with friends. She became aware that Mr Davidson was following her around and chatting her up, becoming a nuisance.

“She says that she knows him and has spoken to him in the past but has no feelings for him. His behaviour was pestering to the extent that bar staff asked him to leave. He took umbrage and took a beer can from the bar and threw it. It hit her on the back of the head. She fell off her stool.

“In interview, he said, ‘Yes, I threw the can’, but he said he didn’t mean to hit her. He said that he threw the can in frustration that had reared its head, but that he had not meant to hurt her. He denied pestering her or wanting a sexual relationship. He had thrown a pint of alcohol over her on another occasion.”

In a victim statement, the woman said Davidson had asked her to go home with him previously and appeared to want a sexual relationship. Davidson, who the court heard had worked as a tour bus driver to musicians and celebrities until recent illness, pleaded guilty to assault by beating.

Tim Gregory, defending, said: “It was an isolated incident. He accepts that he threw the can. He says that he and the complainant were part of a friends’ group that met at the pub.

“He accepts that he was drinking too much, and that his behaviour would have been poor. He didn’t realise his behaviour was pestering her, he thought that they were just friends.”

Davidson was fined £200 and must pay his victim £50 compensation, with £85 court costs and an £80 victim surcharge.