54-year-old Robert Hardman, manager of the three star Plough Hotel in Northampton, has found himself in front of a judge after losing his cool at a former member of staff.
The object of Mr Hardman’s rage; a Romanian waiter, reportedly tried to claim £800 in unpaid wages after leaving his job weeks earier.
The CCTV clip then shows Mr Hardman push Sorin Paraschiv, who falls under the front reception desk. Mr Hardman is then seen to slap and kick Mr Paraschiv a few times, in front of a female receptionist, who intervened on the Romanian’s behalf.
Despite the female receptionist’s intervention, Mr Hardman can be seen then picking up Paraschiv by his collar, dragging him through the lobby and out the door.
The above footage has surfaced after Mr Hardman pleaded guilty in a Northampton court to causing actual bodily harm on Monday.
As it was the hotel manager’s first ever offence, Hardman escaped jail time but was given a suspended 18-month sentence and a stern dressing down from Judge Robert Mayo.
The Judge said: “After more than 50 years without any problems you lost it. The footage shows you lost it.
“It may well have been somebody who you did not think deserved to take the money but you are a manager of a medium sized hotel and it was humiliating for him.
“This is not the way for an employer to behave.”
The Daily Telegraph UK has reported that staff at the Plough Hotel have started calling Robert Hardman a “real life Basil Fawlty” while another said that the manager had finally “lived up to his name.”
Hard by name, hard by nature.
Images: webwombat.com
