A young man who was so intent on getting back to his flat — even though the building was sealed off as a crime scene following a fire — caught a garda protecting the area by the throat.

Three men remanded in custody since last week for attacking a Midleton publican have been banned by the sentencing judge from all pubs in the Midleton and Ballinacurra area.

A publican who believed the storeroom of his premises was about to be robbed by three youths chased after them, but they turned on him and gave him what was described as a merciless beating.

HEAVYWEIGHTS Eamonn Higgins (UCC) and Martin Donovan (OLOL) claim top billing on Friday night when Cork County Board host a charity boxing show in aid of the Alzheimer’s Association at Neptune Stadium (7pm).