A man who assaulted a female taxi driver and refused to pay the fare after she drove him from Newmarket to Bury St Edmunds has been banned from all pubs and clubs in England and Wales for nine months.
Steven John Alderton, 32, of The Vinefields, Bury, made sexually explicit remarks and assaulted the driver who picked him up from a pub.
He ran off into Vision nightclub, on Station Hill, Bury, after paying only £5 of the £25 fare.
The taxi-driver chased after him and called police. When Alderton was searched he was found to be in possession of amphetamine.
District Judge David Cooper said: "It was awful and obscene. It must have been frightening and it's a good job she was so robust about it all.
"This has been one of the most repulsive cases I have heard for a long time."
Alderton was given a 120-day prison sentence, suspended for one year and ordered to attend alcohol treatment for six months. He was also banned from travelling in a taxi driven by a female.
In mitigation, Jeremy Kendall said Alderton was drunk after going for a job interview.
