A PENRITH man who was grieving after the death of his beloved dog fell out with staff at a pub he once worked at as he tried to retrieve lost photos of his pet.

The precious snaps had been left in a red suitcase which Odin Viking, 45, had left in a “derelict” caravan that was parked behind the pub, but he had no permission to go in there to look for it, magistrates heard.

He admitted using threatening behaviour.

At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, prosecutor Peter Bardsley said the manager of the Eamont Bridge pub near Penrith had been in upstairs office on May 10 when she noticed a man walking towards the caravan near to the pub.

This was unusual, so she went outside to find out what was happening. She arrived at the caravan to find Viking was inside “throwing things around.” He appeared to be “angry,” said the woman.

“He was shouting and swearing and saying: ‘Where’s my stuff?”, said Mr Bardsley. The manager felt nervous and thought the defendant was not making much sense and he appeared to be under the influence.

Viking then left and went to the pub’s main bar area, joining his partner and he became aggressive, shouting and swearing at the landlady, said Mr Bardsley. The landlady called the police but Viking left the pub.

“I felt scared and intimidated,” said the woman, though she said what happened had not affected her life in any way. When interviewed, the defendant admitted his behaviour was threatening and aggressive.

Representing himself in court, Viking said his version of the incident was different.

He told magistrates: “I worked at that pub for eight or nine months and the caravan in question was derelict; there’s nothing in there but furniture.

"I had a red suitcase in that caravan, which I’d left and I’d never been back to the pub. My dog had died that week - and in the suitcase there were pictures of my dog and of my daughter. That’s why I went back.”

The defendant said he was struggling with the loss of his pet. He denied that he was in any way throwing things in the caravan; he said the landlady had walked in and accused him of stealing.

After his arrest, at the police station, Viking, of Bracken Bank Lodge, Penrith, fell ill and subsequent medical investigations revealed he had an enlarged heart. A qualified chef, he had been put on the pub watch scheme for two years.

But he had been upset about his dog dying.

“I just wanted to get my suitcase and I was not a threat in any way,” he continued. “I was arguing back with the lady and I’m a big guy, covered in tattoos but that gives the wrong impression of me.

“I suffer every day because of the loss of my little dog.”

Magistrates said they recognised the defendant’s genuine regret for what happened, saying it has caused the two women involved “some distress.” They imposed a 12-month conditional discharge, with £85 costs and a £26 victim surcharge.