A MAN who made homophobic comments about a Wrexham landlord has been banned from all town centre licensed premises for nine months.

Edwin Roberts, 70, of Victoria Avenue in Gresford, was fined £200 and ordered to pay £100 compensation with £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.

A nine month exclusion order was made under which he is not to enter licensed premises within the town centre, depicted on a map provided to him.

He was told the fine had been increased because of the hate element when he referred to the victim's sexual orientation.

It had been an extremely unpleasant incident when he had made very offensive comments.

North East Wales Magistrates Court was told he had been banned from Abbot's Bar & Lounge in Wrexham because it was alleged he had made a sexual remark towards a female member of staff.

He attended on November 18 and asked for a drink but was refused and asked to leave by landlord Mark Sidebottom.

Roberts was abusive and made comments of a homophobic nature. He was ushered out.

Roberts became aggressive and there was a confrontation between him and the landlord where they both ended up on the ground.

Arrested, Roberts confirmed the words he had used to describe the bar and the landlord.

Interviewed, he said he had drunk John Smiths and then Jack Daniels.

He blew a reading of 63 microgrammes on an intoxiliser machine – compared to the legal limit of 35 for a driver.

Roberts claimed he was not aware that he had been banned and was angry when asked to leave.

Solicitor Emily Carlisle, defending, said the offence post-dated another incident for which her client had been prosecuted.

Both should have been dealt with together, she said.

She could not understand that a decision to charge was not make until February 6 when he had made admissions at the time of his arrest.

He did not recall using the words alleged but accepted that he must have done.

Roberts, Ms Carlisle told the Mold court, was very sorry. He himself had been injured in the incident when he ended up on the ground.

Roberts had been in poor mental health and following the incident last November he had been sectioned at the Hedfan Unit in Wrexham for three weeks.

He was ashamed of the incident and did not want to find himself in court again.