Southend: Nightclub boss has jail term quashed

Chinnerys and Jack of Clubs manager Kevin Chinnery said he wanted to wish Southend a happy Christmas after walking free from the dock.

Chinnery had been handed a three-month prison sentence in October for brutally attacking DJ Robert Watson.

The sentence was overturned after a judge said Mr Chinnery - former chairman of Southend's Seafront Traders' Association - could "draw on his good character".

He was given an alternative sentence of 120 hours' community service and ordered to pay Mr Watson £500 compensation - £350 more than the previous amount. The conviction for common assault still stands.

Mr Chinnery said: "Me and my family have had a lot of support which I am very grateful for.

"Justice has been done and I just want to kick on with the festive period and wish all of Southend a happy Christmas."

Basildon Crown Court was told Mr Chinnery had punched and kicked the DJ as bouncers at the Jack of Clubs nightspot in Lucy Road pinned the man down.

The attack in March had left the man "crying, shaking, dazed and unaware of what was happening," according to prosecutor Prab Virdi.

Tensions had risen after Mr Watson ignored a request from Mr Chinnery to turn his music off at the end of a private party at the club.

Chinnery, of Marine Parade, Southend, was a leading figure in the Southend business community.

A number of Southend Council workers and business associates sent character references to the court.

Chinnery had denied the charges at an earlier trial at a magistrates court hearing.

In sentencing, judge Philip Clegg, said: "We can understand the tensions Mr Chinnery was under. But what happened was beyond the pale."

He added: "Mr Chinnery was a leading light in the seafront traders' association and it is to his credit he resigned because of the public humiliation he felt when it was reported in the press."

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