An Italian student ended up in a brawl after he tried to practice his English in a pub and upset customers by accidentally insulting them, a court heard. Massimiliano Tadiello, 37, who was learning English in a class with other overseas students, got confused and called a drinker a "little boy" instead of a "young man".
The class tutor had told the group to visit a bar and strike up a conversation with a local to hone their English skills so Tadiello called into a pub in Teignmouth, Devon. He introduced himself to three men at the bar but got his words wrong and called one of them a "little boy".
CCTV footage showed him briefly shaking hands and talking to the men before the situation "became aggressive" and the group began fighting.
Tadiello ended up chasing the men around the bar with a pool cue during the incident on July 7, Torquay Magistrates Court heard.
Jeff Segan, mitigating, said no-one was hurt and Tadiello had been told to visit shops, cafés and pubs. He said: "The pub was empty apart from the three men he approached and he attempted to make conversation in his stilted English.
"It goes wrong when he calls someone a 'little boy' instead of a 'young man'. An argument then follows." Massimiliano pleaded guilty to a charge of affray and was fined £100 and ordered to pay £50 compensation, a £15 victim surcharge and £60 court costs.
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