Biker used helmet to knock out driver in Swansea 'road rage' attack

A biker lost his temper following a minor road collision and beat a driver about the head with his helmet, causing his unconscious victim to crash face-first onto the road.

Daniel Hawes-Armishaw, 24, then jumped back on his bike and fled the scene on July 5 of last year.

The defendant was tracked down when police found a photo of his bike on the victim's phone which the driver had taken for insurance purposes. When officers arrived at his door and arrested him he said: "He caught me on a bad day".

A judge told the defendant - who was unrepresented in the dock due to on-going industrial action by barristers - that he had carried out a "cowardly and unprovoked" assault that could only be described as a "road rage" attack.

Megan Jones, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the incident happened at lunchtime on July 5 last year near the Tafan-y-Trap pub in Kingsbridge, Swansea.

Miss Jones told the court how the defendant removed his helmet and struck the driver on the back of the head which such force that the visor came off and flew across the carriageway. The van driver was rendered unconscious and fell face-first onto the road suffering a "substantial facial injury".

The victim was taken to Morriston Hospital by his son and underwent a CT scan. No bone damage was found to the face or skull but the casualty had a swollen eye socket, cuts and abrasions to his nose and mouth as well as tenderness to the neck.

In a statement read to the court the driver said the assault had "exacerbated his existing post-traumatic stress disorder", and left him suffering with flashbacks. He also said he had suffered whiplash pains in the neck and back, had been unable to work, and was facing reconstructive surgery on five teeth.

Daniel Hawes-Armishaw, of High Street, Grovesend, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

The judge said it was clear from what he had read about Hawes-Armishaw that he was an "immature" young man with mental health issues.

He said the defendant had "lashed out at his victim after losing his temper, and had then not had the guts to stay around to see how the injured man was. The judge described the assault as "unprovoked and cowardly".With a one-third discount for his guilty plea, Hawes-Armishaw was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete a mental health treatment order, undertake 200 hours of unpaid work, and pay his victim £1,000 compensation.

Speaking from the dock the defendant said he wanted to apologise to his victim - who was sat in the public gallery of the court - and to the victim's family.