Drunk wedding guest in court for saying he would rather cut his arm off than be English
A drunken Swansea wedding guest who insulted some of the other English guests has been convicted of a racism offence.
Phillip Pritchard, 32, was on a coach home from a plush wedding in Brecon when he started singing anti-English songs.
A court heard Pritchard of Tynywaun Road, Llansamlet, was "winding up" some of the wedding guests who travelled from England for the ceremony.
But another Welshman on the coach objected to Pritchard's taunts and a "heated row" erupted.
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The coach driver was forced to pull over into a lay-by where he called the police.
Prosecutor Helen Tench said: "The passengers had been to a wedding reception when Pritchard began singing rugby songs.
"He then started singing: "I'd rather cut my f****** arm off than be English".
"Passenger Gwyn Richards felt it was abusive as there were people he knew to be English on the coach."
The court was told the wedding guests were on their way home from the luxury Peterstone Court Hotel in Brecon, when Pritchard started his anti-English abuse.
Father-of-two Pritchard, admitted using racially aggravated threatening, insulting, abusive words or behaviour.
Lucinda Nicholls, defending, said: "He (Pritchard) was one of many guests at a wedding function and it appears they were all intoxicated to some extent.
"There was some banter between some English people and Mr Pritchard, who is Welsh.
"Rugby songs were chanted and he got carried away.
"Just to add to the unusualness of the situation, the complainant in the matter is Welsh, not English, but felt other people on the bus would take offence."
Pritchard was given a 12-month conditional discharge with costs of £150 by Brecon magistrates.
Comments
by Hadoken845111
Friday, November 23 2012, 3:16AM
“The English frequently make jokes about welsh having sex with sheep, I have see it on the tele, even in national newspapers.
I had one custoemer the other day on the phone say to me "oh yeah, I forgot your from wales" in relation to the large email attachment he sent me that I was trying to access while he was on the phone. What he did not know is the data centre was in England and it caps the download speed.
So I just laughed and added 50 notes onto his invoice.”
by gengis
Thursday, November 22 2012, 11:25PM
“williamwaun, how many comments on the sports page call cardiff fans "scum"? Do you consider that to be racially aggravated, threatening, insulting, abusive words or behaviour, or are you ok with that? Do you have a problem when americans are called yanks, or Llanelli people "turks", or swansea folk "Jacks" or welsh people "Taffs". Have I not heard you call the itinerants in Llansamlet "gypsies" instead of travellers...?
If they were genuinely racist I would agree with your sentiment of throwing away the key but
to recap, singing, "I'd rather cut my f****** arm off than be English" is not in any way racist. That is the opinion of a happy (if slightly foolish and rather drunken) welshman showing a misguided patriotism and nothing more.
Lots of people on here need to seriously man up and stop being so easily offended. Bunch of pathetic wining wimps the lot of you”
by williamwaun
Thursday, November 22 2012, 10:38PM
“The sooner they lock people up who are racist the better. You get football players on a wage of millions a year calling each other racist names. Would you go into work and call your boss these name, or what would you do if he called you these disgraceful names.
Jail them and throw away the key.”
by gengis
Thursday, November 22 2012, 10:03PM
“"Bricks and bones will break my bones but names will never hurt me"
Racism? oh for crying out loud. Some people need to lighten up. It seems as only one silly welshman considered it offensive anyway and made a mountain out of a molehill.
"...Whatever you do, Dont mention the war, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it...."-Basil Fawlty”
by Kaiser_Macsen
Thursday, November 22 2012, 9:45PM
“News of this has been picked up by a white supremacist website in the USA.”
by Neathboy234
Thursday, November 22 2012, 7:21PM
“Some people just can't take their drink, perhaps now it's cost him £150 he'll learn to behave himself. There is no need for racism like this”