Father who smashed bottle on Stephen Lawrence memorial 'was too drunk to know what he was doing'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 11:17 EST, 20 December 2011

Paul Peters pictured leaving Bexley Magistrates' Court, Kent, where he was cleared of racially aggravated criminal damage

A father of three told a court today he felt 'sick' when he realised he had smashed a glass bottle on the Stephen Lawrence memorial.

Paul Peters, 33, was cleared of racially-aggravated criminal damage after dropping the liquid-filled bottle on the plaque on Well Hall Road, Eltham, South East London, where the black teenager was killed.

Mr Peters told Bexley Magistrates’ Court he was so drunk that he did not remember dropping the bottle, which he said could have been the alcopop WKD, and he knew what he had done only after seeing himself in two newspapers.

He said he drank 'about eight to 10 cans of Stella' at a friend's house before getting the bus home with his girlfriend and children, aged six, four and two.

He said was feeling ill and got off the bus to walk to his home in Kidbrooke.

CCTV footage seen in court showed that as Mr Peters walked past the grey plaque, he dropped a bottle, which smashed in the middle of it, just before 6.30pm on October 1.

Chairman of the bench Sue Adams said: 'We are of the view that he genuinely did not see or appreciate the risk of his actions.'

Mr Peters told the court that when he drank that quantity of alcohol, he regularly lost his memory.

Mr Peters was filmed walking near the plaque on a CCTV camera watching over the memorial

As he walks along he drops a bottle onto the memorial as a woman and her child come into view

Mr Peters said he was too drunk to realise that he had smashed a bottle of WKD on the memorial plaque dedicated to Stephen Lawrence

It was only when he saw a photo of himself from the CCTV footage in a newspaper at his mother’s house, and then later in another paper at the supermarket, that he spoke to his girlfriend and handed himself in to police, the court heard.

Mr Peters said: 'I felt sick. I couldn’t sleep and I still, to this day, feel ill about it. I want to get it dealt with. I handed myself in at the police station.'

But Julie Oko, prosecuting, said it was a 'deliberate' act.

'Even though he was drunk, he knew what he was doing,' she said. 'He had a recollection of how he was feeling. His girlfriend would not know how he was feeling. He has deliberately targeted that point.

The memorial stone marks the spot where Stephen Lawrence, pictured, was stabbed to death on Well Hall Road, Eltham, South East London

'Also, doing the act demonstrates his hostility towards black people.'

One witness was dropping his girlfriend off at a party in the road.

In a statement read out in court, the witness said: 'I saw the man had a bottle in his hand. I thought the man was drunk.'

Mr Peters, questioned by defence lawyer Ghulam Humayun, said he and his girlfriend took the children to a friend's house so they could play with his three children in a paddling pool while they caught up over a drink.

He said he started drinking 'very quickly' from about 3pm as he and his friend had not seen each other in a while.

Eventually, Mr Peters got too drunk and had to leave, the court heard. It was after this that he got off the bus and smashed the bottle. He said he did not know where he had got the bottle.

'If I drink one too many, I just forget things,' he said.

Mr Peters said he did not know the plaque was in the area as he had lived nearby for only two years.

Mr Humayun said: 'You saw on the footage that the plaque isn’t exactly something that screams out at you. It is grey, the colour of the pavement.'

Mr Peters said: 'I’m sorry for what I have done, I didn’t mean to do this.'

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