The former chairman of Boreham Wood Football Club has admitted assaulting three women at a restaurant in the town.

Danny Hunter, 45, of Anthony Road, Borehamwood, was arrested in May after a dispute during an evening out at Zinco, in Shenley Road.

At St Albans Crown Court on Monday, he pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by beating and was ordered to pay a total of £700 in fines and £800 in compensation to the victims of the attack.

Following the sentencing, Hunter, who resigned as chairman of the Meadow Park club after his arrest, said: "Of course I'm remorseful, I've stated that from day one. The girls deserve a huge apology, and they've had that on a number of occasions.

"If at all possible, I would hope to put the matter behind me, move forward and concentrate on the sports and education programmes and community projects I've created."

Hunter, who still owns the football club, added: "For all my faults, of which there are many, I have tried to improve things over the past eight years."

Detective Constable Noel Buckley, of Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: "These three victims were out having a sociable evening. They were at a leaving-do because one of the group was emigrating. They were all strangers to Hunter, who launched a violent attack on them."

Wendy Hall, 31, who suffered a black eye in the attack, has criticised the sentence, saying it does not reflect the impact the incident has had on her life.

"I am happy he has been convicted, but being fined £700 for beating up three women shows the justice system has gone mad," she said.

"When I hear stories of people being fined £100 for dropping a piece of litter, how is beating up three women even comparable? To me it gives people the okay to do things like that."

Mrs Hall said she has never had any involvement with the police before, has never been in a fight, and was positive there would be a good outcome.

She added: "We are disappointed with the judge and the Crown Prosecution Service. I think they felt once they got a conviction, that was good enough. But it is not good enough for the victims.

"He wasn't given community service or a suspended sentence or even a rehabilitation order to anger management sessions. We weren't expecting a custodial sentence, but there should have been something more than such a small fine."

Mrs Hall explained how the assault has affected her: "I find it very hard to go out in the evening now because I don't feel safe anymore.

"My children don't like me going out in the evenings. I went out about a month ago, there was a group of men in the restaurant I was in, and one of them said something jokingly to our group and I had a panic attack. We all had to leave because I was petrified of anything happening again.

"It wasn't just a black eye, it is the aftermath of it and the mental stress that affects us and our families."