Nathan Dyer pleaded guilty to burglary at Portsmouth
Magistrates Court.
The Southampton midfielder Nathan Dyer has been ordered
to carry out 60 hours of community service after pleading guilty to
burglary at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court. The order relates to an
incident in February, when Dyer, 20, and team-mate Bradley
Wright-Phillips were accused of stealing cash and mobile phones
from the Bar Bluu club in Southsea.
Dyer was seen on CCTV pictures from the bar rifling through
handbags in the cloakroom, while Wright-Phillips allegedly stood
watch. Staff later reported that three mobile phones and £145 in
cash were missing.
The pair had broken a club curfew to visit the bar and were each
fined two weeks' wages - £16,000 for Wright-Phillips and £10,000
for Dyer - by their club. Hampshire police first arrested both
players in March, and Wright-Phillips indicated earlier this month
that he intends to plead not guilty to the same charge of
non-dwelling burglary.
Chairman of the Bench Christopher Malone today ordered Dyer to
pay a total of £392.50 compensation to the four victims as well as
£65 costs. He warned Dyer that if he did not complete the 60 hours
of unpaid work satisfactorily within a 12-month period he could
face imprisonment.
Dyer's solicitor, Mark Haslam, said his client was "a naive
young man" who felt "deeply ashamed" at having being "led astray"
while under the influence of alcohol. He said Dyer had described
today's appearance in court as "the worst day of his life".
"Nathan Dyer accepts that he did look through the bags, although
he did not enter the room intending to do so and he did not take
any property from these bags," Haslam said. "While he has a
successful career as a professional footballer, he is young and
naive and on the evening in question he had been drinking.
Understandably his judgment was affected by having taken alcohol.
He can't explain what he did, he simply didn't think straight. "He
was being encouraged by others, he was led astray."
Mr Haslam said Dyer wanted to offer compensation to the victims
despite not having stolen the items himself. "Nathan Dyer offers
his humble and profuse apologies to all those who have been
distressed by this sorry enterprise," Haslam said.
Wright-Phillips is due to appear before Portsmouth magistrates
on September 2 for a committal hearing.
