A respected Lyneham church warden was attacked by a man over their Covid parking rules.
56-year-old David Arran pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court earlier this month (3 January).
Prosecutor Keith Ballinger said that the victim, 68-year-old Geoffrey Jackson-Haines, was volunteering at St Michael’s Church in Calne Road when the bout of violence took place on 15 December 2020.
The defendant, of Bungalow Caravan Park, Bradenstoke, pulled up in the church car park driving a black BMW at around 4.45pm – but due to the pandemic, parking was restricted.
Mr Jackson-Haines, who intended to close the car park gates, approached Arran as he sat in the driver’s seat and asked him what he was doing.
In reply, the defendant said: “I’m parking my f**king car”. He told Arran that he must leave as he has locking the gates – as per the new rules, which were clearly set out on a sign.
Mr Jackson-Haines closed the defendant’s car door – with Arran shouting: “Don’t slam my door you f**king c**t” before exiting the vehicle and squaring up to the pensioner.
He went on to punch the victim in the face with great force and knocked him to the ground, Mr Ballinger said. Mr Jackson-Haines sustained a bruised and bloodied face, cuts to his eye, pain in his face and a grazed knee.
In a victim personal statement, he said the was left shocked by the incident – stating that the defendant was “so aggressive for no reason and hostile off the bat”.
Tony Nowogrodzki, defending, said his client has remained offence free for 20 years. He said the pair had a minor disagreement and Mr Jackson-Haines slammed his door closed, making contact with his knee.
He said Arran wishes he just sat in his vehicle, but instead he confronted the victim. Mr Nowogrodzki said the defendant is very remorseful, adding that “at his age should have known better”.
He said Arran – who works as a forklift instructor – no longer parks in the church car park.
District Judge Joanna Dickens said the assault was “really, really, really serious”, adding that “people can die from one punch”.
She said: “He has a really nasty injury from this. He is older than you, he is more vulnerable than you.
“I always ask people this: if that man had been a bodybuilding boxer aged 30, would you have done that? Probably not.
“People can literally die from one-punch injuries; when you hit their head you don’t know what could happen.”
Taking into account a bunch of “excellent” character references, his charity work with the MS Society and accepting the assault was “entirely and utterly out of character”, Judge Dickens spared Arran an immediate prison term.
She imposed a 20-week custodial sentence suspended for one year, 150 hours of unpaid work and £500 compensation to the victim. He must also pay costs and surcharge.
