Michael Feeney was spotted outside Rochester Cathedral in Kent with his dog. Visiting chaplain Margaret Moore went over to him, and as reported by The Sun, he then “grabbed her lightly by the throat.”
67-year-old Feeney, from Rochester, returned an hour later, smelling of alcohol and launched a foul mouthed rant inside the cathedral in front of dozens children.
Medway magistrates heard Feeney then confronted verger Joseph Miller and “tried to strike him.”
When police arrived to arrest him, he told them: “I was in the cathedral and they were playing mini golf. That’s just not right.”
Visitor numbers have doubled since the temporary nine-hole golf course was installed in the nave.
Yesterday, Feeney’s lawyer, Ghulam Humayun said his client told him: “This is a place of worship and they are turning it into a leisure centre.”
Feeney apologized, saying “I am extremely sorry. It’s a one-off thing. I try to be a nice person to everybody and I am sorry about that.”
He admitted engaging in indecent behaviour in a church and common assault.
Feeney was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £21 victim surcharge.
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