Traffic Warden KO'd By Ticketed Driver

Ticket Rage: Edwards

An angry driver, who violently punched the first traffic warden he saw after receiving a parking ticket, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for inflicting serious psychological damage on the victim who is still off work seven months later.

Scaffolder Karl Edwards, 24, of Quantoc Close, Crawley also left civil enforcement officer Paul Oyelade with a serious eye injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, which prevents the full return of his vision.

Cocaine-user Edwards pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr. Oyelade in Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith on October 4, last year.

"This was an offence that occurred because you wound yourself up," Judge Simon Davis told the defendant yesterday. "You'd received a parking ticket, got cross about it, and when you saw Mr. Oyelade wrongly believed he had issued it.

"You became more heated and turned that heat on him and he did not deserve it and there seems to be some form of pre-meditation

"This one punch left this traffic warden with lesser sight seven to eight months later. The cut's mended, but what about the eyesight? That's far more serious then the cut."

Still Suffering: Oyelade 

Prosecutor Mr. Subhankar Banerjee told the court it was 5pm and the victim had just issued two parking tickets to lady drivers in the area.

"He was walking along the street when out of the blue this defendant punched him in the upper right side of his face, just above his eye.

"The punch was strong enough to cause instant swelling and a one and a half centimetre cut and the force of the punch was sufficient to smash Mr. Oyelade's glasses and knock them off his face."

Edwards, who has previous convictions, was traced via DNA after police discovered his skin cells on Mr. Oyelade's smashed spectacles.

"Mr. Oyelade received an injury to his eye that required treatment, he has missed work and is still off work," explained Mr. Banerjee. "His statement deals with the physical a psychological effects of what occurred."

As recently as April 30 Mr. Oyelade, who suffers flashbacks, panic attacks, anxiety and depression since the assault, was ruled unfit to return to work and his next assessment is not until the end of July.

"He feels anxiety when he goes outside, when strangers come close and he is seeing a counsellor and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"An ophthalmologist mentions retinal damage and pain that extends sharply to the back of his head."

A test on March 17 concluded Mr. Oyelade's on-going vision issues are now psychological. "His symptoms now relate to post-traumatic stress disorder," added Mr. Banerjee.

Edwards' lawyer Mr. Jean-Jack Chalmers told the court his client's cocaine use caused: "A heightened sense of anxiety, anger and aggression.

"He returned to his van and found a parking ticket and only made it five minutes down the road when he experienced problems with the vehicle and stopped.

"He was worked up and angry and assumed wrongly Mr. Oyelade was the same traffic warden that issued the ticket and made a stupid and mindless decision to vent his frustration.

"He immediately knew he'd done wrong, but on seeing the blood panicked and was very scared and ever since the incident it has played on his mind.

"It caused him a huge amount of fear and anxiety and he would like to apologise either via a letter or if the victim was up to it then at some point face-to-face."