‘Pillar of the community’ admits assaulting ex-partner

A ‘pillar of the community’ appeared in court today and admitted a drunken assault on his ex-partner.Alan Taylor, 53, of Wimpole Drive in South Wootton, previously denied this allegation on April 25 when appearing at Lynn Magistrates’ Court.Taylor was also previously charged with coercive behaviour between the dates of January 1, 2020, and October 29, 2023. However, due to a lack of evidence, this charge was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Taylor is the former managing director of the Lynn News and its sister title Your Local Paper, which he launched in 2013.He admitted carrying out the assault on October 29 last year when he appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court today.Prosecutor Qamar Iqbal told the court that Taylor and the woman who was assaulted had been in a relationship for 12 years. Just after midnight on October 29, they had been out at a party together in Lynn and were walking to get a taxi home.Both the victim and Taylor had been drinking, but the victim wished to walk alone down Purfleet Street due to Taylor’s intoxicated state. Mr Iqbal said that Taylor then stood in front of the victim and struck her face, causing her to fall to the floor and leaving her with injuries which lasted for around four days.A member of the public witnessed the incident and assisted the victim, helping her back to the bar where her friends were situated. They helped her get home.Taylor was later arrested and taken for questioning, where he said that because the victim’s eyes were rolling back due to her drinking so much alcohol, he slapped the right side of her cheek. Mr Iqbal requested a restraining order be imposed.However, in mitigation, Giles Fleming told the court that this was a “one-off” incident and described Taylor as a “pillar of the Lynn community”.Mr Fleming said: “It is right to say she [the victim] was in drink at the time. He was not a sober man who was taking advantage of her.”The solicitor told the court that Taylor discovered the victim was having an affair with another man in June, but she had told him it would end. The pair continued their relationship until she told Taylor in October that the affair had continued.“He was very upset and found it hard to trust her,” Mr Fleming said.“It doesn’t excuse an assault, but this caused a fleeting moment of violence in difficult circumstances.“The relationship has been over for a year now and there is no prospect of it being rekindled.” Mr Fleming told magistrates that since losing his job, Taylor has been busy volunteering with charities such as The Purfleet Trust and Festival Too, both of which he is a trustee for.The solicitor added: “He sees this as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start again. It was a one-off incident for a man with previous good character.“He is someone the court can be confident won’t be here again. He has been a pillar of the Lynn community for many years.”Magistrates asked for a pre-sentence report on Taylor to be carried out before he learns his fate. Taylor is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on January 28.He has been released on bail with conditions not to contact the victim.