A company director was told he ‘could have killed a man’ after punching his victim in the head and kicking him whilst he was on the floor.
Graham John Mundy, who owns Mundy Groundwork Limited and employs at least 35 workers, pleaded guilty to assault and driving without insurance at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday (11 May).
The defendant, of Kite Hill, Wanborough, was driving a van on the Commonhead Roundabout, near Great Western Hospital, when he was involved in a collision with a Mazda at around 4pm on 23 March.
The two vehicles pulled over at the roadside, and 35-year-old Mundy confronted the driver aggressively with his fists raised. He then punched the man in the head, causing him to fall to the floor.
Whilst the victim was lying on the floor, the defendant along with his employee Sean McHugh, 33, – who was travelling in his van – kicked and stamped on the injured man.
An independent witness called the police about the assault, and later told officers that the victim offered no violence toward his attackers and didn’t provoke them.
Kate Prince, prosecuting, said the man was left with a head injury and a bruised shoulder.
Mundy’s solicitor, Sambreen Arif, said her client “found the situation stressful and acted out of character”, adding that he accepts he “acted inappropriately”.
She said the defendant is married with three young children and runs a successful groundworks business, which employs between 35-40 staff and operates across the South West.
She added that Mundy accepts he was driving his van without insurance, but says he believed it was set to automatically renew.
Ms Arif asked District Judge Joanna Dickens to suspend any prison term handed down, stating that he is the main breadwinner, pays the £2,500-a-month mortgage and his business will struggle if he is imprisoned – potentially leading to the loss of jobs.
Handing down a 14-week custodial sentence, but suspended for one year, and 150 hours of unpaid work Judge Dickens said: “I regard this as an incredibly serious offence, it is serious because it is a violent road rage incident.
“It was serious because it was blows to the head, which could have killed him. It was serious because you attack a guy on his own whilst he was offering no violence.
“You are lucky he did not receive serious injuries or died as a result. This is so serious only prison can be justified.”
Judge Dickens said she would have ordered the defendant pays £3,500 in compensation to the victim, but he is believed to have left the country and the CPS could not provide an address.
McHugh, of Shaftesbury Avenue, received the same sentence for his part in the assault.
Six points were also imposed on Mundy’s driving licence for driving with no insurance.
