I was acting in self-defence, says drunken fan on disability benefits who threw punch at a police horse



Barry Rogerson drank five pints before clashes with police



He says he panicked when the horse 'charged' towards him



Claims his reaction may be down to medication he takes for his illness



45-year-old, who calls himself an animal lover, has not worked in eight years



'I'm an animal lover': Barry Rogerson with his dog who says he panicked when the 'charged' towards him

The man filmed punching a police horse during a football riot claimed yesterday he was acting in self-defence.

Barry Rogerson, 45, who calls himself an animal lover, says he panicked as the horse ‘charged’ towards him.

He says the medication he takes and the fact he had been drinking heavily may have prompted his actions.

With a football scarf over his face, Rogerson was caught on camera throwing a punch at the horse, called Bud, before being tackled by officers and wrestled to the ground during violence after Newcastle United’s match against Sunderland on Sunday.

Despite claiming he is too sick to hold down a job, Rogerson, who is on disability benefits, went to the match – which his team Newcastle lost 3-0 – and drank five pints of beer before becoming involved in clashes with police.

He confessed yesterday that he was the fan who attacked the horse after a picture of him throwing the punch was plastered over the national media.

Speaking from his home in Morpeth, Northumberland, Rogerson said he wanted to apologise to the public – and to Bud – for his rampage.

‘I’m an animal lover. I’ve got three dogs, a fishpond out the back and I feed foxes across the road,’ he said as he posed for pictures with one of his pets, a 15-year-old alsatian cross called Candy.

Rogerson, who was arrested and has been bailed until next month, claims that he threw the punch in ‘panic’ and is now afraid to go out after animal rights activists put comments about him on social media.

The former factory worker has not worked for eight years and claims £5,460 a year in disability living allowance and incapacity benefit. He says he suffers from sarcoidosis, an inflammation of the lungs.

‘I can’t even walk up the stairs. Doing anything physical is hard,’ he said – but he was not able to explain why that did not stop him attending the game and getting involved in the violence.

Caught: Barry Rogerson was captured on camera punching Bud the horse in the face

Rogerson claimed he was ‘not aware’ of the riots outside the ground in which three police officers were injured and 29 fans arrested.

He said he had his scarf covering his face to keep the cold off a broken filling in a tooth.

He said: ‘We just came out of the Terrace Bar in St James’ Park, we turned right and I was right in the middle of it.

‘This one particular horse was spooked by a firecracker and charged at me. That’s when I panicked and threw a punch at the horse.

Recovered: Bud the police horse with groom Abigail Collins back at home in the Carr Gate police stables in Yorkshire after he was punched in the face

‘I tried to get him away from me with my left hand and then punched him with my right. It was sheer panic.

‘It was an instant reaction. I did not actually go out to attack a horse. I’d like to apologise to the horse, to the mounted section and to the people of the North East.’

Rogerson claimed his reaction may have been down to the 15 tablets a day he takes for his illness.



He lives in a £120,000 semi with his Portuguese wife Teresa, 47, and attended Sunday’s game with nine friends.

His wife, a school supervisor, said: ‘It’s not in his character to do anything like that.

‘I let him out by himself once and look what happens. People on the internet who are writing things about him don’t know him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.’

Rogerson says he is now living in fear after discovering he had been identified on Facebook and says up to 700 animal rights activists on Twitter are asking for his address.