A WESTON teenager has been forced to put his plans for an army career on hold after appearing in court this week.

Sam Mitchell, of Gordon Road, stood before magistrates accused of an aggressive verbal and physical attack on several residents of the same street in town.

The 19-year-old, who had his medical to join the armed forces last week, pleaded guilty at North Somerset Courthouse in St Georges on Monday to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards people living in Ewart Road.

Rebecca Gardner, prosecuting, said that at about 9.30pm on January 30, two residents heard a man kicking their next door neighbour’s door in an aggressive manner.

When they went out to see what was happening, Mitchell turned towards them with a glass bottle in his hand, causing them to run back into their home.

The defendant then began kicking their door, leaving their daughter hysterical.

Ms Gardner added: “An off-duty police officer saw what was happening and saw the Ewart Rpad resident come back out of his house. Mitchell then began throwing punches towards the man, which he tried to block and the off-duty police officer shouted at them to stop as they started wrestling.

“The two men tried to restrain him but he was still being aggressive and smelt strongly of alcohol.

“He was trying to bite people and punch the men.

“He started to complain that he couldn’t breathe and things started to calm down before other officers arrived and arrested him.”

Mitchell, who said he was ‘very sorry’ to magistrates on Monday, added that he was so intoxicated that he could barely remember anything about the incident.

He said in police interview that he had drunk about 10-12 pints in the pub beforehand with his mother and her partner, but when he went to their home in Ewart Road to collect some keys afterwards he became angry when they would not answer the door.

Mitchell says that the army careers office had agreed to still take him providing any fines had been paid and any community order carried out.

He was handed a 12-month community order with 100 hours’ unpaid community work, which magistrates said could be carried out quickly to free him for his forces career, and was ordered to pay �85 costs.