A man who spat in the face of a bar manager at the Woodbourne pub has been sentenced to community service and probation.

Liam David Skillicorn, of Lheannag Park, Douglas, admitted offences of common assault and breaching a licensing ban.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes ordered the 20-year-old to do 100 hours unpaid work and put him on probation for 12 months as part of a combination order.

She also banned him from entering licensed premises, and buying or being sold alcohol for a further six months and ordered him to pay £250 compensation to the bar manager.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told the court that Skillicorn was in the pub in Alexander Drive in Douglas on February 21 at 10.45pm, despite being banned from entering licensed premises until April 2020.

He was said to have been swearing loudly and slammed his phone down on a table.

The bar manager asked him to leave the pub but Skillicorn initially refused.

Police were called but before they arrived Skillicorn got up to leave and spat towards the bar manager as he went, with some of the spittle landing in the man’s face and some landing on a barmaid’s arm.

He was later identified using CCTV footage and arrested.

Skillicorn told police he had been mistaken about when his pub ban was due to end. He said it was the licensee’s fault as he should have stopped him coming in. He admitted swearing but denied spitting saying that some saliva may have come out of his mouth as he swore.

However, defence advocate Ian Kermode entered a basis of plea in court in which Skillicorn admitted that he had spat towards the bar manager but that he had not deliberately aimed at his face.

A probation report said that Skillicorn had been at his grandfather’s funeral on the day in question and had then visited some pubs afterwards. He claimed that he had asked the licensees to check their banning books and had been told he was not banned.

Skillicorn said that he had since written to the bar manager apologising for the incident.

The report said that Skillicorn was attending Motiv8 on a voluntary basis.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes said that she accepted that Skillicorn had not been aiming his spit at the man’s face and gave him credit for attending Motiv8.

He was also ordered to pay £50 prosecution costs which he will pay, along with the compensation, at a rate of £10 per week, deducted from benefits.