Bognor: Singer Sentenced Over Butlins Assault

11 February 2014, 15:31 | Updated: 11 February 2014, 15:34

Former Celebrity Big Brother star Dane Bowers has been given a conditional discharge following an alleged brawl at the holiday camp.

The former Another Level singer was the headline act at a 1990s night at the Butlins resort in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, when the incident happened on April 20 last year.

The 34-year-old DJ, from Kingswood Way, Selsdon, Surrey, pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive behaviour which was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The court heard how he shouted and swore at door staff when his brother was refused re-entry to a nightclub at a Butlins holiday camp where he had been performing.

Bowers, who once dated model Katie Price, had previously faced two charges of assault by beating but one of these offences was replaced by the section 5 public order offence that he admitted and the other charge was dismissed.

The case against his brother, electrician Wade Bowers, 31, of Kingswood Way, South Croydon, has been adjourned to a future date. He has previously pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of cocaine but not guilty to three counts of assault by beating.

A third man, builder Terry Kean, 35, of Limpsfield Road, South Croydon, previously pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and today pleaded guilty to the same offence admitted to by Bowers.

At Chichester Magistrates' Court Bowers was given a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Kean was also given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 court costs for the public order offence and was fined £50 for the drugs offence and ordered to pay another £85 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

David Symonds, chairman of the magistrates' panel, said: "It is so fortunate this incident did not escalate any further and it was restricted to abuse.

"The offence is still serious by the virtue of the fact it was directed at people who were discharging their legitimate duties and they are entitled not to be the target of such behaviour.''

David Lewis-Hall, prosecuting, told the court that the three men had been outside the Reds nightclub at Butlins when Wade Bowers was refused re-entry which sparked a confrontation with the door staff.

During the altercation, Bowers "shouted and swore'' at the bouncers and called the duty manager Greg Bukowski a "knob'', Mr Lewis-Hall said.

He said: "Butlins was hosting an adults-only 90s-themed weekend and as part of that weekend Mr Bowers had performed as the headline celebrity act.

"Mr Bowers is a popstar DJ who was previously known as a member of the late 90s boy band Another Level.

"Accompanied by brother Wade Bowers and Mr Kean, after he had performed that evening, he found himself outside the on-site nightclub Reds at 4.20am.

"When trying to re-enter, a member of the door staff, Adam Callaghan, refused entry to Wade Bowers as he was unsteady and had been slapping the other two around the face outside the nightclub.

"Upon Wade Bowers being refused entry, Dane Bowers started to remonstrate with Mr Callaghan, getting in his face, shouting, swearing at him and demanding to see a manager.

"Mr Kean also gets involved and is acting in a similar way, shouting and swearing at security staff.''

Mr Lewis-Hall said that Mr Bukowski was called and Bowers continued to "argue with him in a heated manner.''

He added: "Mr Bukowski arrives, tries to explain to Dane Bowers why his brother had been refused entry, his response was to call Mr Bukowski a knob.

"The way the situation was developing a number of other door staff came to support Mr Bukowski and the three males involved were refused re-entry to Reds nightclub.

"Dane Bowers, Wade Bowers and Terry Kean then tried to push past the door staff and Dane Bowers was pulled away from the club by Mr Bukowski.''

He said that as Bowers tried again to re-enter the club, he fell to the floor along with Mr Bukowski.

He said: "Mr Bowers continues to act in an uncooperative manner with the door staff when he was on the floor and he remained held down by the door staff until the police arrived.''

James Brotherton, representing Bowers, said that the DJ had attempted to negotiate with the door staff over his brother's refused re-entry but the situation had turned into an argument.

He said: "He was the headline act over the weekend, it is to my surprise that he was not offered any security for the weekend there, he was left to his own devices, he was not assisted in any way to help him deal with fans or anything else.''

He added: "He pleads guilty at the very first opportunity to the charge and he accepts the behaviour described. Clearly he has been stressed about the matter for some time.''

Steve Collett, representing Kean, said: "He confesses his voice was raised and he was no doubt irritated by the circumstances and he did say something and some people may have been concerned about what happened.''

Bowers, a former Brit School student, became famous in the late-1990s as a member of R&B band Another Level and after the group disbanded he sang a duet, Out Of Your Mind, with Victoria Beckham.

He went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.

Bowers is starring in the reality-documentary series The Big Reunion on ITV2 where he is part of a band called 5th Story with fellow solo singers Gareth Gates, Kenzie, Kavana and Adam Rickitt.