Pub to reopen under new management

Rex Collis

“The worker asked if she could help him and he said ‘give me a kiss.’”

He repeated this several times and went towards her. He grabbed her arm and then her wrist, scratching her in the process.

Mr Bettany said he tried to come towards her again, but this time two members of the public “put him on the ground”.

Andrew Cash, mitigating on behalf of Collis, said his client suffered mental health problems and was homeless.

When asked about his address, he said Collis “lived behind Boots”.

Mr Cash said: “He is very embarrassed about it. He is very apologetic, understands his position and should get credit for his guilty pleas.”

He said he had been using Mamba but had “been out of trouble for the best part of a year”.

Collis, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to theft, assault by beating and criminal damage.

The judge handed him eight weeks in prison for the theft of the banana and 18 weeks for the assault to run consecutively.

He was also given four weeks in prison for the criminal damage to the bananas and peaches and this was to run concurrently.

This gave him a total of 26 weeks in prison. He also has to pay a victim surcharge of £122. A DERBY pub is set to reopen 10 months after it shut unexpectedly.

The Abbey, in Darley Abbey, will reopen in the next few weeks under the management of Stuart and Lynn Madden. The former civil servants from Newcastle have not run a pub before but are keen to embrace the challenge.

The pub shut suddenly in November last year and the Samuel Smith brewery quickly began advertising for new live-in managers.

Mr Madden said: “We were down visiting our son and looking around the area and we saw the Abbey. We made enquiries about the manager posts and once we put the forms in we were offered the roles.

“Now it’s just a case of running through the training, getting the stock in and tidying up.”

Mr and Mrs Madden are looking for two members of staff to work at the pub. Those interested in applying should call 07904 188242.