A police superintendent who was drunk on his way home from a music concert feared he was being kidnapped when a taxi driver took him a different way, it was claimed in court.

Robert James Kirman – who resigned from the North Wales force last week – repeatedly shouted abuse and banged on a Perspex window between him and the driver who feared for his safety.

Sardesh Hassan drove to Wrexham town centre where he hoped he would be safe but Kirman tried to drag him out of the driver’s seat when he got there.

Kirman, 47, of St Mellion Crescent in Wrexham, admitted assault, criminal damage and a public order offence following the incident on August 12 last year.

Appearing at Flintshire Magistrates Court he was fined £733, ordered to pay £366 compensation for the damage and £200 loss of earnings, together with £85 prosecution costs.

District judge Richard Williams said the assault was the culmination of a drunken course of aggressive behaviour.

“The complainant is entirely blameless and did nothing whatsoever to cause or contribute in way towards what happened to him,” the judge said.

But Kirman himself had lost his good character and his 20 year police career where he had displayed exemplary conduct.

The Mold court heard how his partner Paula Vaughan-Smith, 48, accepted a caution for a public order offence and proceedings against her had been dropped. She had since lost her administrative job with North Wales Police.

Kirman accepted he was drunk when they got a taxi home from a Rock the Park music concert at Marchwiel.

Temporary traffic management measures had been put in place and the taxi driver went down country lanes as directed.

There was an £8 fixed fare but it was claimed Mrs Vaughan-Smith mistook the time on the meter for a fare and Kirman started shouting, asking the driver where he was going.

Mr Hassan stopped at one stage to re-check the post code for the sat nav and assured them that he was taking them home, said prosecutor Robert Blakemore.

But in CCTV footage was played in which Kirman could be heard repeatedly shouting “where are you taking us?”, “stop the car!”, “stop driving” and “stop the f…ing car or I will smash your face in”.

The driver was not familiar with the country lanes, spoke to his control at Apollo Taxi which sponsored the concert, and was advised to go to a place of safety.

Mr Blakemore said he drove to “club land” in Wrexham and stopped outside Ironworks night club where he knew there would be CCTV and door staff.

CCTV showed the vehicle pulling up and the defendant trying to pull the driver out of his seat.

His partner said the driver had been taking them “a silly way” and had been rude to them, and the defendant told two special constables who arrived “I am Superintendent Rob Kirman but I don’t want to use that.”

He said he had been “treated like shi..”

Kirman later rang an incident inspector and said they had been taken miles out of their way and that it was bizarre, as if they were being kidnapped.

Interviewed, Kirman said he had drunk 10 pints of lager and was drunk but not incapable.

It was dark and he did not know where he dozed off in the taxi.

He said he started to get “really frightened” and started to think they were being taken against their will and could be seriously harmed.

Kirman said there had been four terrorists attacks in Britain, he had been involved in the North Wales Police response to each one, and he had that in mind when he feared for his and his partner’s safety.

He really thought something was going to happen to him, he said.

Asked about the banging and the foul language that could be heard in the taxi, he said he was trying to get the driver angry so that he would stop so that they could escape.

Kirman said he thought he was being driven away from Wrexham but the prosecution said that was not the case.

Mr Hassan, an Iranian national who moved to the UK in 2011, said the incident was really upsetting and frightening.

He had no choice but to follow the diversions.

His passengers got angry but it was not safe to let them out in the countryside and he drove to a place of safety in town.

“I really thought he would hit me if I stopped where there was no others around,” he said.

Barrister Neil Usher, defending, said it was “15 minutes of shameful, drunken and aggressive behaviour” which had a catastrophic effect on his client and his partner.

It was a deeply unpleasant incident by a man of previous impeccable character.

Kirman had described to a police inspector he felt as if he was being kidnapped, said Mr Usher, but that perception had been completely clouded by the amount of drink he had taken

“There was a degree of confusion in his mind at the time brought about by excessive drinking,” said Mr Usher.

“He is keen for me to express his sincere apologies.”

It was a personal tragedy for the defendant, who had a 24 year unblemished record as a police officer.

He rose to the rank of superintendent but had resigned last week.

He did the honourable thing recognising the inevitability that if he did not then he would be dismissed.

During his career he had been commended on a number of occasions and had been presented with the Royal Humane Society Award after he saved the life of a man who was trying to commit suicide.

He absolutely loved his career and always went “above and beyond” but now he had lost his good name and his career, said Mr Usher.