Irate guest punches hotel manager

Corfe Castle, England -- A guest at a 16th century British hotel, apparently upset over losing sleep because of a noisy wedding party, wound up slugging the hotel's manager.

In an incident last July reminiscent of a scene from the British comedy "Fawlty Towers," Ian Peters, 62, of Purley, south London, admitted hitting Andrew Hageman, 42, in the face and wrestling him to the floor before kicking him in the groin. For that, he was fined about $750 last week, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The incident occurred at Mortons House Hotel in Corfe Castle, Dorset County.

Coincidentally, Hageman was likened to Basil Fawlty in a review of the hotel that appeared in the Telegraph two years ago. Hageman, who has run the hotel for seven years, has since written a book called "Inn Keeping With Mr. Fawlty: The confessions of a hotelier," which is to be published next month.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.