Winehouse free after admitting assault

Amy Winehouse walked free from court today after admitting assaulting a theatre manager during a pantomime.

The troubled star lashed out at 27-year-old Richard Pound during a performance of Cinderella at the Milton Keynes Theatre in Buckinghamshire.

And the 'Back To Black' singer, who had been drinking ahead of the Christmas show, was later overheard muttering obscenities by staff before she was asked to leave the premises.

Julian Vickery, prosecuting, told the small courtroom the 26-year-old had consumed five vodka and cokes before she arrived at the performance that evening, feeling “quite sober” and in a “positive mood”.

But a short while in to the performance, she began to get involved in the show, prompting one member of the audience to ask her to keep her voice down.

It was then suggested that she moved from her seat in the stalls to a box, before she decided to leave the auditorium to go to the toilet.

“Mr Pound was nearby and offered to show her where it was located. She was also accompanied by security personnel,” Mr Vickery said.

En route to the ladies, Winehouse, who was there to support a close friend, passed the bar and asked Mr Pound if she could have a double vodka and Coke.

“He responded along the lines of ’Don’t you think you should have a glass of water?’ She said she felt hurt, embarrassed and patronised,” Mr Vickery said.

Mr Vickery said went into the toilet and was heard uttering obscenities while inside.

“When Miss Civil came out of the toilet, she went to Mr Pound and apologised for her behaviour. Mr Pound said to her that she had had too much to drink and that she had to leave,” he added.

“Miss Civil said she felt embarrassed and patronised and, with no premeditation, grabbed his hair and pulled.

“She accepts that she said ’Who the f*** do you think you are?”’

At this point the decision had been made that she should leave the theatre, Mr Vickery said.

She was heard muttering further obscenities as she made her way out, he added.

Winehouse, who pleaded guilty to common assault and public order offences, was charged on December 23 – four days after the incident – after attending Milton Keynes police station voluntarily.

She was today given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 in costs and £100 in compensation to her victim, Mr Pound, at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court.

A conditional discharge means that, if she commits further offences within the next two years, she will also face re-sentencing for today’s offences.

The singer, who is no stranger to courtrooms, sat quietly in the dock wearing a short dark skirt and white shirt, and sporting her signature beehive hairstyle as her sentence was handed down.

Addressing the star, District Judge Peter Crabtree said: “It may be harder than a fine because you have now got to stay on the straight and narrow for the next two years.”

And referring to a medical report, he added: “You clearly have taken effort from this report to address your alcohol problems and any other problems you may have, so you get credit for that.”

And he acknowledged that her outbursts had not been in the presence of children.

But he warned: “If you commit another offence you’ll be hit hard and you’ll be hit twice.”

Earlier the court heard how the singer had admitted raising her voice “in the spirit of the pantomime”.

She also accepted that some members of the audience “may have found her disorderly,” Mr Vickery said.

In mitigation, Paul Morris said the star had made “huge changes” to her lifestyle. “It was when she felt she had been spoken to in a patronising manner that she reacted,” he said.

“It was a momentary assault and was not in front of children.”

The court heard that the singer had no previous convictions and two cautions.

Winehouse, who was accompanied by three security guards and her manager, made no comment as she left court by a back exit, following the short hearing.