Mansfield driver headbutted motorist in petrol queue road rage attack
A Mansfield Woodhouse man with a violent record saw red and headbutted a motorist he thought was holding him up while queueing at a petrol station, a court has heard.
Ryan Walsh assaulted the man at Morrisons Petrol Station, in Mansfield Woodhouse, on the morning of April 23, said prosecutor Becky Allsop.
The other motorist "wasn't driving as well as he might" and was holding up the queue, said Chris Perry, mitigating.
"Mr Walsh clocks him, eye to eye, and couldn't resist having a word," he said. "The victim was no shrinking wallflower and he was giving his opinions back. He wasn't at all contrite.”
He said Walsh only meant to frighten his victim but instead made contact by accident.
"It was a relatively short lived affair," he said. "Thankfully the injury was minimal.
"His record is one of violence, but this is different. It is not alcohol-fuelled or with a night-time setting.
"It was a Monday morning and he was running late. It was a lack of temper control. He has demonstrated he can be a good person.
"On that day it was more about the stresses and strains of what was going on in his life. When we are in our cars we are not always our best selves."
Walsh, 27, of Cox's Lane, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted common assault when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.
The presiding magistrate described him as “a big chap” and said his victim was “cornered and couldn’t have got out of the way.”
He was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay a £114 surcharge, £50 compensation and £85 costs.