A garage boss, who broke a
neighbouring mechanic's arm with a heavy-duty spirit-level during a
'parking rage' row, was told today he would be going to prison.
Mark Evans Blackburn, 46, (pictured) of Bakers Gardens, Carshalton swung the four-foot long wooden
weapon at Matthew Ward during a furious row over blocked access.
Blackburn was convicted by
a Croydon Crown Court jury of inflicting grievous bodily harm in
Bensham Lane, Thornton Heath on January 5 and was remanded in
custody.
“You have been convicted
by a jury of a serious offence and the only sentence I can pass is
one of imprisonment,” Judge Peter Gow QC told the father-of-two.
The court heard trouble
began when Mr. Ward, who had just pulled up in his car, complained a
small transit van Blackburn had just parked was blocking the entrance
to his garage.
The defendant shouted:
“I'm not going to move the fucking van,” and admitted in the
witness box: “I think I told him to fuck off.”
The pair then had a
face-to-face confrontation, shouting abuse at each other, when Mr.
Ward's friend got out of a car with a dog.
“I was looking at the
floor for something to arm myself with because I thought the dog was
going to attack me,” Blackburn told the jury.
Mr. Ward said the
defendant warned: “Wait there. I've got something to show you.”
Seconds later he returned
with the spirit-level and, swinging it like a baseball bat, struck
Mr. Ward, breaking his left arm, and causing him to fall to the
floor.
Blackburn claimed the blow
was in self-defence because he feared Mr. Ward was going to grab a
weapon from the back of his own vehicle.
Prosecutor Mr. Nicholas
Bleaney said: “Essentially this injury ruined Mr. Ward's
professional life.
“As a direct result of
his injuries he has had to give up his business.”
Blackburn will be
sentenced on January 2.
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