A cyclist was attacked with a crutch by an aggressive car passenger who took objection to how he rode past.
The victim was riding his bike in Heaton, Newcastle, and past a car as John Walker got out. A court heard Walker took the view he had been slighted and chased after the cyclist and confronted him outside a shop.
He then took several swings at him with one of his crutches in front of shocked onlookers, including a young child. Walker, 53, of Beamish Close, Walker, Newcastle, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and has now been given a community order.
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Newcastle Crown Court heard it was around teatime on December 5 2019 that Walker was a passenger in a car on Chillingham Road, Heaton, when the driver pulled over and he went to get out. Walker was using crutches at the time, as he is now.
Sentencing him, Judge Julie Clemitson said: "The complainant was cycling past your vehicle. There was a very wide pavement and it looks as if it's meant to facilitate cyclists at the outer edge.
"You took objection at the way he passed you. Whatever the rights and wrongs, your perception was you had been slighted in some way and you became enraged.
"You chased after him and sought to confront him as he pulled over to go into a shop. You were clearly irate and confrontational to the point he pushed you away because you were so close to him.
"Thereafter you attacked him with your crutch. The CCTV shows you with the crutch in both hands and taking several aims towards his head, swinging the crutch on several occasions.
"At least one blow made contact with his head and left a cut behind his ear which he had to have glued at hospital. It has left something of a mark in his hairline, albeit not noticeable to other people but it is to him.
"Your behaviour was such that those around and about were clear you were the aggressor. Others intervened and you left the scene and were driven away. There were other people in and out of the supermarket, including one young child who was very close to what was going on."
The court heard Walker has previous convictions but nothing since 2000. He was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a jury and was sentenced to a 12-month community order with rehabilitation. He must pay £200 compensation and £1,000 costs.
Walker suffered an accident at work years ago which had a "substantial impact on his mobility and mental health" and he currently receives personal independence payment.
Tony Cornberg, defending, said there was an element of "bravado" in the attack and added: "He is not a danger to the public. he has a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."
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