Sharif ordered to pay damages to valet

Omar Sharif has been ordered to pay £159,000 in damages after punching a car park attendant outside a Beverly Hills restaurant.

The Egyptian-born actor, who is best-known for his roles in Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, lost his temper after Guatemalan valet Juan Luis Ochoa Anderson refused to accept a 20 euro tip for moving his car.

When Anderson informed him that euros were not accepted in the US, Sharif punched him in the head and branded him a "stupid Mexican".

Anderson subsequently filed a lawsuit against the 75-year-old, describing him as “belligerent and intoxicated" during the altercation in June 2005.

Sharif was ordered to pay the sum after failing to show up to a hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday.

In February 2007, he was sentenced to two years' probation, fined £500 and told to attend 15 anger management sessions after pleading no contest to a charge of misdemeanour battery in connection with the incident.