Nathan Daniel Town pleads guilty to common assault, attempted arson after threatening to burn down Miles hotel

An angry drunk stormed into a country Qld pub, dousing it in petrol and holding up a lighter. It wasn’t his only “disgusting” act that night.

Nathan Daniel Town, 43, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay District Court to one count of common assault and one count of attempted arson.

A man who held up a lighter and splashed petrol around a pub, warning he was going to burn it down, has faced Hervey Bay District Court.

Nathan Daniel Town pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of common assault and one count of attempted arson, with both charges dating back to January 31, 2024 at a hotel in Miles.

The court heard Town was intoxicated and disrupting other patrons.

He was asked to leave the pub and was being ushered out before spitting on the publican’s face and right shoulder.

Town left the hotel but returned an hour and a half later carrying a red jerrycan, the court heard.

He placed the jerrycan outside of the hotel before going in and yelling “I’m going to burn the pub down until someone pays me $50”.

Town then walked back outside where he began to splash unleaded petrol on the front door and the street out the front of the hotel while holding a lighter in one hand.

Several patrons exited the hotel to confront Town, with one grabbing the can while others restrained him.

Judge Gary Long described the assault against the publican as “disgusting, demeaning, and unacceptable”.

Judge Long also highlighted Mr Town’s previous instance in front of the District Court in 2021, where he was jailed for 18 months after unlawfully wounding his boss, but released on parole after serving five months.

He also faced the Maryborough Magistrates Court in 2021 after unleashing a racist tirade on one woman before spitting on another.

Town tendered a letter to the court where he detailed his remorse and “embarrassment” for what occurred at the Miles hotel, although he had “no recollection” of it.

Judge Long acknowledged a level of acceptance in the letter and in Town’s plea of guilty.

Town was sentenced to 100 hours of community service for the common assault charge and 18 months' in jail with an immediate parole date of November 12 for the attempted arson charge.

Convictions were recorded.

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