Mansfield driver dragged retired cyclist from bike and kicked him in the head

Thomas Groves got out of his vehicle on Little Carter Lane, grabbed his victim by the clothes and pulled him sideways, damaging his £3,200 bike in the process, on April 30, said prosecutor Freddie Sail.

"His victim was retired and that would have been visible to Mr Groves," he said, adding that a kick with a shod foot constituted the use of a weapon.

The court heard Groves' victim spent 11 hours in hospital where doctors said only his cycling helmet had saved him from more serious injury.

He was left with fluid in his ear which affected his balance and hearing and he was prescribed tablets.

In a statement he said he struggled to sleep, suffered flashbacks to the attack, and experiences stress and anxiety.

Although his hearing is begining to return he is reluctant to leave the house and go for long rides with friends, he said.

Paige Tugby, mitigating, said: “There is quite frankly nothing he can say. He knows it is wrong. He accepted and took full responsibility for it in the interview.”

She said Groves, aged 32, wouldn’t necessarily know his victim was retired or elderly as the man often cycled 150 miles per day.

She said the defendant, who has no previous convictions and deserves credit for his guilty plea, is “incredibly remorseful” and the incident was “completely out of character”.

Ms Tugby said Groves’ mental health had been affected by the death of his father who he had left work to care for in his final months.

Since then he has been prescribed antidepressants, started counselling and recently found another job as a delivery driver.

The presiding magistrate told him it was an “unprovoked and nasty attack,” but acknowledged he was “clearly very remorseful.”

Groves, of Taylors Close, Mansfield, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

He received a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and was ordered to pay £2,500 compensation.