National Lottery IT technician Ryan Hibberd got more than he bargained for after taking a photograph of a cash desk at the Milford Haven branch of Iceland.

Once the photograph was taken, Mr Hibberd was pushed by a customer, held in a headlock and struck to his stomach several times.

Earlier this week Karl Luby, 38, of Waterloo Road, Hakin, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault by beating when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates.

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The court was told that on June 18, Luby and his wife were waiting at the till after shopping in Iceland when they say Mr Hibberd pointing his phone towards them to take a photograph.

“The technician’s role was to go around various stores as part of the National Lotter, checking the tills,” said Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan, “but the defendant was under the impression the photo was being taken of him and his wife.

"He tried to pull the phone away from him and then he pushed him. The defendant's fist was clenched, he had him in a head lock and he struck Mr Hibberd several times to the stomach area.”

But Luby’s solicitor Tom Lloyd said his client had made ‘a terrible mistake’.

“And it’s a mistake he deeply regrets,” he said. “He was at the till with his wife when a man comes up and takes a picture of them. He didn’t know why, he didn’t know what was going on and his wife felt uncomfortable and upset.”

Mr Lloyd said that when Luby asked the man why he’d taken the photograph, the technician’s response was, ‘I’ve sent it’.

“My client had no idea why that photo had been taken nor where it had been sent to. In those circumstances he made a misguided judgement.”

After considering the evidence, Luby was fined £300 and ordered to pay £120 surcharge and £85 costs.