A DRUNKEN night out after being dumped by his girlfriend proved costly for a window cleaner.

Robert Brierley, 26, was hit with compensation and costs of £1,500 by Blackburn magistrates after admitting causing damage to a taxi.

Brierley, of Burnley Road, Loveclough, pleaded guilty to criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said taxi driver Naseer Hussain was waiting at the rank in Accrington town centre at 4.20am when Brierley got into his car.

Mr Hussain was third on the rank and tried to explain to Brierley he had to get in the first taxi. Miss Allan said: “He took his anger out on Mr Hussain’s car by repeatedly kicking it.”

Peter King, defending, said it had been a ‘moment of complete and utter madness’ by his client who had no previous convictions. He added: “In the cold sober light of day he is not the kind of man who would act in this way.