'Shepherd's' racial abuse heard by his festive flock

A 'shepherd' – who had been on a festive day’s drinking binge in Macclesfield with “Jesus”, The Grinch and an elf – hurled racial abuse at an Asian railway porter before violently swinging his crook at him, a court heard.

The Macclesfield station guard was only trying to help the group, who were all dressed in fancy dress costumes, and were on their way home to Stoke-on-Trent, the town’s magistrates were told.

But the drunken shepherd, 35-year-old Mark Brassington, flew into a rage and squared up to the local worker, who was simply trying to establish train times.

He began swearing and yelling racially aggravated abuse at the shocked porter.

But the bench heard he wouldn’t stop, and instead became more violent, even when his friends – dressed as “Jesus”, an elf and The Grinch – tried to restrain him.

Wagon driver Brassington, of Glenroyd Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, narrowly escaped jail and was instead sentenced to 120 hours community punishment after he admitted using racially aggravated, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.