Pete Doherty fined for breaking photographer's lens
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Doherty has made numerous court appearances in London on possession charges. (Getty Images: Gareth Cattermole)
A British court has ordered musician Pete Doherty to pay damages to a photographer after he smashed her camera as she tried to snap him before he returned to a clinic for drug treatment.
Magistrates in Yeovil, south-west England, said the 29-year-old Babyshambles lead singer should pay Catherine Mead 918.27 pounds ($1,900) for breaking her lens on August 22 last year.
Mead, a photographer with the South West News Service agency, had her equipment broken when Doherty became angry that she was following him and his family around the town of Crewkerne.
Doherty, a recovering drug addict who has made numerous court appearances in London on possession charges and served 29 days of a 14-week jail term for breaching his probation earlier this year, pleaded guilty to criminal damage.
He was arrested by police in London on December 3 last year and admitted damaging the camera, telling officers he had been trying to enjoy a day out with his family before going back into rehab, the court heard.
Passing sentence, magistrates accepted there was a "degree of provocation" in the incident.
Outside court, Doherty said: "Yeah, it was OK today, it should have been sorted out ages ago to be honest. It's been hanging over me for a long time."
- AFP
