Hat row at Fife nightclub led to 12-month jail term for 61-year-old

A 61-year-old man became upset when his hat went missing in a Dunfermline nightclub and his behaviour quickly spiralled out of control.

Louis Curtis’s threatening antics towards other customers and abuse of the police officers sent to deal with him resulted in him being jailed for a year.

Curtis, of McGinlay Terrace, Lochore, was found guilty of shouting, swearing and acting in an aggressive manner following a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court. The incident happened on January 19 at Life Nightclub, in the Kirkgate.

He was also found guilty of a second charge of shouting, swearing and acting aggressively at Dunfermline Police Station. Curtis made offensive remarks and threatened to spit in the faces of police and custody staff.

PC Dean Waddell told the court he was in a patrol car at around 3am when he and his colleague were flagged down by staff at Life.

They went to the door area and found Curtis in a heated argument with a female. The woman was asked to move away, which she did, but Curtis then became abusive to the police and swore at them.

He then lunged towards a customer and was arrested.

He was taken to Dunfermline police station and the court was shown video of his abusive behaviour towards staff.

The 25 minutes of ranting was all captured on CCTV. A spithood had to be put on him.

Curtis’s disruptive behaviour continued in court, where he was representing himself.

After applauding his own rants when the video was played he was warned to stop.

Sheriff Alastair Brown found Curtis guilty and jailed him for 12 months. He told Curtis he had “an appalling record”.