A drunk man who racially abused a taxi driver and then assaulted a member of the public who tried to intervene has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Thomas Llewellyn, 38, of Warrington, appeared before Preston Magistrates’ Court after admitting to a string of offences committed in Burnley on January 8 this year.
Llewellyn pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating and one count of racially aggravated common assault.
The court heard that Llewellyn, from Woolston, racially abused a taxi driver and a public servant, assaulting two men and a woman in total during the course of the events.
Critically, his actions included an "unprovoked attack of a serious nature" that caused injury to a "member of the public who was trying to assist in calming the situation."
Magistrates deemed the offences so serious that they initially ruled "only a custodial sentence could be justified" due to the accumulation of serious assaults.
However, taking his guilty pleas into account, the court opted to suspend the jail term.
Magistrates noted that Llewellyn was assessed by the Probation Service as having a "prospect of rehabilitation" and has taken steps to address his issue with alcohol.
Llewellyn was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
During this period, he must complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay a total of £600 in compensation to the victims.
He was also ordered to pay compensation of £600 to the victims, court costs of £85, and a victim surcharge of £154.
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