Alice Cooper fan who brandished prosthetic leg at concert is spared jail

Alice Cooper may be notorious for rollicking sets in which fake blood, very large snakes and even electric chairs feature heavily. But those sitting near fan Andrew Miller when the American rocker appeared at the Southampton Guildhall must have been left wondering if the gothic horror show had somehow spilled into the auditorium too.

Rather than just sitting and enjoying the gig or perhaps indulging in a bit of middle-aged headbanging, Miller showed his appreciation by removing his prosthetic leg - decorated with an Alice Cooper motif - and waving it around.

When he was asked if he wouldn't mind desisting by John Lynch, who was sitting beside him in the front row of the balcony, 46-year-old Miller attacked him, leaving his victim needing hospital treatment.



Wearing a sober blue shirt, tie and jacket rather than his leathers, Miller, who lost part of his right leg in a motorcycle accident, appeared before a judge at Southampton crown court.

He was given a six-month sentence suspended for 18 months and a three-month curfew confining him to his home at night. He was also banned from the Guildhall for 12 months, ordered to pay Lynch £250 compensation ‑ and told that he really ought to know better.

Sentencing him, the judge, John Boggis QC, told Miller: "It's perfectly clear you were making an exhibition and a nuisance of yourself. "Mr Lynch asked you to be still and confine yourself to your seat but you would not have it so you hit him and injured him. You thoroughly ruined his evening and this sort of behaviour is unacceptable - you are old enough to know that."