“Over a can of beer?” a defendant exclaimed when a prosecutor asked magistrates to order him to pay court costs of £85.
Alan Bywater was in court charged with failing to comply with the direction of a police constable after he failed to keep away from St Peter’s Hill in Grantham for 24 hours.
Jim Clare, prosecuting, told Grantham magistrates on Monday how Bywater, of Oxford Street, Grantham, was issued with an order at 2.45pm on October 5 as his presence was likely to cause or contribute to alcohol-related crime or disorder.
He added that police are laying a particular focus on St Peter’s Hill over increasing street drinking leading to anti-social behaviour.
Bywater (47), who defended himself and apologised for his two hour error, received a six-month conditional discharge and magistrates ordered him to pay a £15 victim surcharge. No courts costs were ordered .