Drunk stumbled around fair ‘covered in cider’ during children’s day

A 38-year-old was seen trying to rip a letterbox from a homelessness charity building while drunk.Two drunken offences led Ben Hunt, of no fixed address, to an appointment at Lynn Magistrates’ Court.However, Hunt did not appear in the dock on Thursday, with his solicitor, Alison Muir, entering guilty pleas on his behalf for two counts of being drunk and disorderly in a public place. The case proceeded in his absence.

Prosecutor Jessica Neequaye told the court that the first incident took place on January 28 at 2.15pm, when police were called to a “row” – with Hunt asked to leave the area.Hunt was at the Purfleet Trust in Lynn and was seen trying to rip a letterbox from the wall, as well as shouting, swearing and holding his fists up as if he wanted to fight somebody. He was then arrested.The second incident took place on February 17, when it was the children’s day at the Mart, the visiting funfair on Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place. Hunt was seen stumbling out of a nearby pub and headed towards the fairground. He was described as being “loud and intimidating”.Several members of the public reported Hunt to the police, who were patrolling the fair. They saw Hunt stumbling into people. Hunt was “covered in cider” and struggled to stand up by himself at the Mart, where multiple children were present on the “busiest day” of the fair.In mitigation, Alison Muir told the court that he is currently homeless and trying to seek permanent accommodation in Cambridge.Ms Muir said that Hunt is an alcoholic and is “vulnerable, but highly intellectual”. The solicitor added that Hunt suffers from complex mental health issues.Magistrates fined Hunt £50 and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £20.