Notts grandad attacked off-road biker with an axe in Bestwood Country Park

Graham Timlick, aged 67, hit the rider on the head with the flat of the blade, knocking him off his pit-bike, and struck him two more times on the head and back, prosecutor Alan Murphy told Nottingham Crown Court.

A female horse-rider saw him rain blows on the bike, which later had to be scrapped, following the attack at 8.30pm, on May 29, 2020, and described the biker as "a polite young man" who moved aside when she passed.

Timlick’s 20-year-old victim, who was left bleeding and disorientated, received nine stitches for a gash to his left forehead, and said he felt anxious and on edge as a result.

After Timlick was arrested on June 11, he broke down in tears and confessed to an incident that happened in Bestwood Park, on August 13, last year, when he confronted a 17-year-old biker and his friends, while wearing a balaclava and brandishing the axe.

While his friends scattered, the youth was able to pushstart his bike and escape, and reported it to the police, but the culprit wasn't identified.

Timlick said that he intended to damage the motorbike, adding: "I felt sick when I realised I had hit him on the head."

The court heard he has a previous conviction for battery, from 2014, when he assaulted a couple walking their dogs in the park, for which he received a community order and a curfew.

Daivid Outterside, mitigating, said Timlick was a "courteous, decent and hardworking man" who had hoped to enjoy his retirement at his Cairngorm Drive home, which borders the park which he loves.

But he had been affected by nuisance bike-riders speeding around the park, "at all times of the day and night" for 20 years, and “it became an obsession.”

He made 50 complaints to the police and 12 to the council, but was told it was the other organisation’s responsibilty.

He had repaired smashed fences and cleaned up after illegal fires, and even discussed the problems with two local youths, but to no avail. At the time his wife was ill and this added to his stress.

Mr Outterside said Timlick was terrified of a prison sentence after spending four nights in HMP Nottingham prison, and has since swapped houses with his son and moved to Top Valley.

Timlick, now of Ballarat Crescent, pleaded guilty to affray, inflicting grievous bodily harm, and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon.

On Friday, Judge Julie Warburton said: "I'm struggling to fathom why he stayed there for 20 years given it was impacting his well-being. He seems to have used violence to remonstrate with people in the park he felt slighted by.

"On any view of it this must have been a terrifying incident."

The judge told him he escaped immediate custody "by a whisker," and sentenced him to 20 months, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation days and 180 hours of unpaid work, and pay £1,000 compensation to his victim.

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