Southsea man storms into pub and threatens drinker with meat cleaver before getting bundled out

Mark McMillan, 47, powered into the Mother Shipton House in Twyford Avenue, Stamshaw, and walked up to his target at the bar before he was bundled out by the landlady and customers.

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Portsmouth Crown Court heard the incident on October 16 was ‘over in a flash’ with McMillan, of Devonshire Avenue, accepting his dismissal from the busy pub without a fight after those inside swarmed towards him.

The court heard McMillan inexplicably went after the man at the bar despite there being ‘no ill-will’ between the two. The defendant’s gripe was aimed at the victim’s friend and McMillan’s ex-partner. The court was told that recently, McMillan and the victim have ‘fist bumped’ after seeing each other out.

But tensions had flared during the bizarre attack, with CCTV footage of the incident played to the court. In it McMillan is seen entering the pub and walking up to his target and grabbing him around the neck and swinging at him with his arm. The defendant then pulls out a meat cleaver and holds it menacingly aloft over his head while confronting the victim before he is ushered out the pub by the landlady and customers backing her up.

Prosecutor James Kellam said: ‘(McMillan) took a meat cleaver and waved it around and was then bundled out of the pub.’

The court was told McMillan was angry over a photo and had been involved in a text conversation with the victim’s friend.

Paul Fairley, defending, said McMillan ‘did not blame anyone but himself’ and called for him to be spared jail due to the ‘exceptional circumstances’. He praised the landlady for using two hands to bundle McMillan out of the pub.

The court heard McMillan, who admitted a charge of threatening a person with a blade in a public place, had no previous weapon offences and had been out of trouble for five years and was due to be evicted from his property.

Judge Richard Shepherd said: ‘I must confess to not fully understanding what could possibly motivate you to take a meat cleaver to a pub to remonstrate with a person when that person was not in the photo (and not the person McMillan had a gripe toward).’

The judge said it must have been ‘frightening’ for those in the pub but said it was ‘over in a flash’ with there ‘no serious disorder’ after the incident was finished in four seconds.

McMillan was spared jail and handed a 10-month prison term suspended for 18 months, told to complete 25 rehabilitation days, a thinking skills program, and was banned from entering any UK pub for three months.

The judge added: ‘Your remorse is genuine and you truly don’t know why you behaved like this. Clearly something is going on and I think you need help from probation to protect you and the public from any opportunity of a flare-up.’

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