Drug addict avoids jail over assault on doctor

A former computer programmer who assaulted a doctor and brandished a fake gun in her clinic has been given a suspended sentence after a judge said his behaviour had been "out of character".

John Agnew, aged 48, admitted slapping Dr Marian O’Keeffe twice in the face, pulling her hair and verbally abusing her at a Dublin surgery on August 8, 2013.

Agnew, of Benburb St, Dublin, also pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to producing an air pistol and stealing a prescription from the clinic.