Man who took anger out on restaurant sign offered to pay for damage – but then ran away

A 43-year-old who decided to take his anger out on a menu sign at a town restaurant found himself in court for causing criminal damage.Andrejs Lapsins, of Highgate in Lynn, appeared at the town’s magistrates court on Thursday where he admitted causing damage to the sign to Pera Grill on Norfolk Street On June 1.On that date, Lapsins was spotted by the owner of the restaurant kicking the display.

The owner heard a loud bang and went outside to see what had happened.Lapsins apologised to them and said that he would pay for the damage.Both parties went to a nearby cash point so that Lapsins could pay him for the damage caused – however, the defendant ran away. The restaurant owner then called the police, and the defendant returned to stand with them while they waited for officers to arrive.The court heard that Lapsins had taken his anger out on the sign after he had been out drinking. He had become agitated by what someone in a pub had said to him. He said that he had offered to pay for the sign, but that £280 was a “fairy tale” amount to fix a sign.Lapsins was ordered to pay £100 in compensation to Pera Grill so that the sign could be repaired.He was also handed a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £26 victim surcharge.