A man going through a bad time turned ugly' when he tripped over a street advertising sign after drinking in a Turton pub.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Lee Robert Smethurst, 41, reacted by throwing the sign through the window of a beauty salon, causing £300 worth of damage.

Smethurst, of Barnfield Drive, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

He was fined £100 and ordered to pay £300 compensation and £75 costs.

The court was told that after smashing the window Smethurst sat down on a wall and waited for the police.

When interviewed he said he had been having a bad time in his private life and had been drinking.