Pubs bar teetotal preacher
A TEETOTAL trainee church minister was banned from a town's pubs and leisure centre after being falsely accused of drunken disorder.
Lee Davies, aged 36, pictured, received a letter from Biddulph Pubwatch banning him from 15 licensed premises after a man of the same name was blamed for causing trouble over Christmas.
The ban even extended to Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre, because it has a bar.
But the married church member has not drunk alcohol for six years and had not been to a Biddulph pub over Christmas.
It has emerged that he was sent the letter by a police officer, who checked the electoral register and contacted the only Lee Davies in the area.
Now Mr Davies has overturned the ban and received a written apology after the group accepted he was a victim of mistaken identity.
Mr Davies, who works at Airbags International in Congleton, and is a member of Ball Green Assembly of God Church, said: "I got a letter, by recorded delivery, saying I had been banned from the pubs and the leisure centre because of my behaviour over the Christmas period.
"I was distraught. I don't drink and hadn't been in any pubs over Christmas.
"I've been training to become a minister for more than four years so I was worried about what would happen if it got back to the church and my colleagues at work, and the effect it would have on my reputation."
Mr Davies, of Bellringer Close, Biddulph, finally cleared his name after attending a Pubwatch meeting at the Conservative Club, in Biddulph, this week.
He added: "There were two other men who had been falsely accused too.
"I was a nervous wreck, it was like being in court.
"They said my name had been given in connection with an incident in a pub and my details had been obtained from the electoral register.
"They gave me a letter of apology. I had to take a day off work to go there, it's an utter joke."
Pubwatch chairman Ann Facey, landlady of the town's Royal Oak, said Mr Davies was a victim of mistaken identity.
She said: "This was a mistake and it does happen, which is why people can appeal.
"When Mr Davies came to the meeting the licensee of the premises where the incident happened could see he wasn't the person responsible. He has received an apology and as far as we are concerned that's the end of it."
Now Pubwatch officials and police are trying to trace the true culprit behind the Christmas trouble.
PC Lorraine Bowman, who sent the original letter after being given the Lee Davies name, said: "We apologise to Mr Davies. This has been an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.
"No information about this matter has been circulated outside the Pubwatch committee and a letter of apology has been sent and also given verbally."
3 Comments
by Rustinho, Silverdale
Sunday, February 07 2010, 10:07AM
“Another failure for the "presumed guilty" culture that the government have created over the last 10 years or so.”
by i know more, biddulph
Sunday, February 07 2010, 1:38AM
“this is not just a case of mistaken identity this is a disgrace that a serving police officer gets information from the electoral register and sends a letter really not knowing if it is the correct person and to have another two people on the same day also being mistaken for some other people who share
the same name, well wpc bowman these are not isolated cases you wpc bowman sent a pubwatch letter to a address of a lady in her 80s and your reason for that was because the lady also shared the same second name of a person the pub watch banned .
so how many mistakes have being made in this pubwatch scheme in biddulph not just by wpc bowman but some licensees do they always put the correct information across to the other licensees so judgment can be made????????? the name reads "i know more" and for no other people knowing from outside of the pubwatch well im sorry people do talk.
i suggest this pubwatch scheme needs looking into because before long someone will sue them .
to get a idea of things if you have watched the vicar of dibley
when they have the meetings around the table i dont think things are far off.”
by Mick Penning, newcastle, staffs
Saturday, February 06 2010, 12:17PM
“Just another case of shoddy researching, cavalier in spirit, and with a 'so what' mentality. (he'll get over it -type stance).
He should be compensated out of Police Funds -that's the only way to curtail this manner of abusive use of bureaucratic misbehaviour. Anyway, he deserves more than an 'easy apology'.”