77-year old man repeatedly told police to **** off

Police went to Keighley Road in Skipton at just after 7pm on October 8 after a concerned member of the public called about a man in the road.

When they arrived they found Anthony Durrant, who lives nearby, drunk and lying on the ground, the court heard on Friday.

He repeatedly told the officers to **** off and said how he wanted to die, said Nadine Clough, prosecuting.

He was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and taken to Harrogate police station.

Durrant, who in court struggled to hear and was using sticks to walk, was at the time just one day into a community order for the breach of a restraining order concerning his ex-wife, the court heard.

Durrant who had previous convictions and had spent time in prison. Most of his convictions were connected to his ex-wife, the court was told.

Durrant, who admitted being drunk and disorderly in a public place, was receiving help with his drinking as part of his ongoing community order, the court heard.

On the day, he said he had drunk two bottles of wine before finding himself out of his house and in the road.

Mitigating, Jane Nield, said his recollection of the incident was 'very vague'.

"He doesn't know why he went out. A member of the public called the police because they thought he might be knocked down," she said.

Miss Nield said Durrant was normally mild-mannered and polite but not when he had been drinking. He liked to read and do puzzles and went to church.

He had worked in the textile industry and had had a good job which involved foreign travel. He had continued working after retirement and in his 70s was working on the tills at Morrisons supermarket, which he enjoyed. More recently he had volunteered at a Skipton charity shop, but had no give it up because of his drinking, said Miss Nield.

His drinking and difficulties with his wife had got him into trouble, she added. He thought it might be wise to stop drinking so much wine and perhaps drink beer instead and had an idea about perhaps moving into sheltered housing where there would be more people.

Magistrates fined Durrant, of Keighley Road, £40 with costs of £85 and a surcharge of £16.

The bench said the community order would continue together with the work to address his drinking.