A PUBGOER hoping for a job interview attacked a doorman and pub owner after they refused to let him in.

Ashley Thomas admitted two counts of common assault when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police were called to Hereford's Gordon Bennetts bar on June 17, prosecutor Mark Hambling said, after Thomas assaulted the bar's owner and a member of door staff.

The assaults, which were caught on CCTV, consisted of multiple blows.

In a statement, the doorman told police that Thomas had struck him with the flat of his hand to the right side of his head and that he had fallen on his back onto the floor.

The bar's owner said he had seen Thomas hit the doorman two or three times with an open hand, before lunging at him and also striking him.

"There were bruising injuries which I would suggest were largely as a result of the victims falling," Mr Hambling said.

In interview, Thomas admitted there had been a confrontation and said he was "shocked and horrified" by the CCTV footage, Mr Hambling said.

"He said he had drunk quite a bit and was intoxicated at the time," he said.

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Michael Horne, for Thomas, said the 50-year-old has some mental health issues stemming from a fall in from a roof while in Australia in his 20s.

"He spent time on life support and had to be assisted to walk and speak again," Mr Horne said.

"He was 24 then and is 50 now, but says he has struggled with his mental health since."

Mr Horne said Thomas had been keen to get into the pub that evening as he had been due to meet a friend to discuss a potential job over a drink, having recently been informed that his job at the time would be coming to an end.

"My client was quite keen to gain entry, but he made the mistake of drinking before entering," Mr Horne said.

"This was a bad decision. He goes up to the door and speaks to the door staff and they refuse him entry."

Mr Horne said lots of other people were being let into the pub and that Thomas had been physically pushed away by the doorman.

The court heard Thomas has been under stress, including financial pressures, but that he has now stopped drinking and is seeking help from Turning Point and his doctor.

Thomas, who is of Old Eign Hill, Hereford, was fined a total of £1,200 and ordered to pay compensation of £150 to the pub owner. He must also pay a £150 victim surcharge, but no prosecution costs were ordered.

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