Briton says he should not have been allowed on flight drunk

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Steven Handy, a 32-year-old British man who is standing trial for allegedly assaulting an Airtours flight attendant, has said that he should never have been allowed to board the aircraft when people could see he was drunk.

Handy told a court in Malaga, Spain, where he is being tried, that he had drunk nearly all of a one litre bottle of vodka before the flight. He testified that he has now found God and brought a Bible to the court to give to the injured flight attendant, Fiona Weir, as a sign of his 'repentance and Christian love', according to PA News.

Handy is accused of being abusive during a flight from London-Gatwick airport to Spain in October 1998 and of breaking a bottle over Weir's head when she told him that he would be met by police in Spain. It is also alleged that Handy stabbed Weir in the back with the broken bottle - however Handy denies this charge. Weir, who is 33, is scarred for life and no longer able to work. Prosecution lawyers are seeking a six-year jail sentence. Handy claims that Weir has pursued the case for compensation and that he never intended to hurt her.

Handy, who was extradited from Britain in November 2000, will be notified of the judge's decision in prison some time during May.