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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Doherty fined for breaking snapper lens



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, southwest England, said the 29-year-old Babyshambles lead singer should pay Catherine Mead STG918.27 ($A1,900) 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, the star said: "Yeah, it was okay today, it should have been sorted out ages ago to be honest. It's been hanging over me for a long time."

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