A DRUNKEN spectator allegedly stole a golf buggy at the Open championship and crashed it into a hut before biting a security guard, a court heard.

Simon Lloyd, who was later found to be almost twice the legal drink driving limit, did not drive the buggy far, a court heard today. (Thursday, September 5).

“But he managed to drive it into a metal hut and having, before he set off on that journey, reversed into some fencing,” alleged David Polglase, prosecuting.

He damaged the hut and buggy and when detained by security staff he “was aggressive and violent” and assaulted one of them, John Bilsborough, “including biting him to the finger and thumb causing injury.”

47-year-old Lloyd, of Bertram Close, Meols, Wirral, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court denying assault causing actual bodily harm and aggravated vehicle taking.

CCTV footage of Lloyd’s alleged driving at the Royal Liverpool in Hoylake during the 151st Open championship on July 18 last year just before 8.30 pm was played to the jury during the opening of the prosecution case.

Lloyd denies taking the buggy and Mr Polglase told the jurors the issue would be whether the person driving the buggy was the defendant.

Mr Polglase said that Lloyd was arrested and was found to have a breath reading of 68 mg of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. He was interviewed and exercised his right to silence.

"It appears that the defendant’s case is that he was defending himself from being assaulted in using force during the incident that led to Mr Bilsborough receiving an injury. 

“The defendant denies doing anything to deliberately injure him. He denies that it was he who took the buggy,” he told the jury.

G4S security guard, Dorothy Green, told the jury how she was sitting alone in a refreshment portacabin when “there was a bang and the hut was shaking and I realised something had bumped into the hut.”

She said she went outside and saw a man in the driving seat in a buggy with a female and they looked as if they had been drinking.

She said she checked that they were okay. “I noticed that the gentleman was quite volatile so I retreated into the hut for a moment.”

Miss Green said she went out again and spoke to the couple, who gave names she could not recall, and they ran off towards the exit and she told a colleague who went after them.

Cross-examined by Jonathan Duffy, defending, she agreed that it had been a practice day and said there were not many people around at that time though there had apparently been a party.

She said that the driver of the buggy had been trying to reverse at one stage but it was not working. “He was obviously so drunk he could work out which was the accelerator and brake,” she claimed.

Further quizzed about the CCTV footage Miss Green said, “To my mind the people you see on the CCTV had nothing to do with it.”

Mr Duffy pointed out the people whose buggy had apparently hit the hut ran off after just a second whereas she said she spoke to the couple twice.

The case continues