NHS Manager 'Dodgy Hodgey' And Cronies Jailed For Kidney Dialysis Scandal

Lisa Green & Alan Hodge

An NHS Trust manager responsible for kidney dialysis equipment at three hospital’s has been jailed for four years for awarding his cronies lucrative contracts during a £250,000 fraud.

Renal technologist Alan Hodge, 53, received “kick-backs” for paying his pals NHS money in return for either non-existent or exorbitant work.

Nicknamed 'Dodgy Hodgey' he was employed by Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs services from Epsom Hospital; St. Helier Hospital and Sutton Hospital.

Hodge, of Aulton Way, Sutton was convicted of one count of defrauding the Trust between November 1, 2007 and October 9, 2013.

Company director Pierre Allen, 55, of Canon Farm Cottages, Canons Lane, Burgh Heath, Tadworth - boss of Main Contractors - received three years.

Pierre Allen 

Plumber Stephen Thompson, 47, of Warnham Road, Furnace Green, Crawley received two years.

They were found guilty by a jury of the same count.

Hodge’s partner, Lisa Green, 49, laundered some of the money and was convicted of converting criminal property between January 1, 2011 and October 9, 2013.

She was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to perform 100 hours community service work.

Phillip Jones, 50, was the only defendant to plead guilty and received 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 250 hours community service for the fraud.

Prosecutor Mr. Stephen Hopper said Main Contractors was specifically set-up to receive money defrauded from the Trust and financed £15,000 worth of matchday trips to Stamford Bridge for Chelsea FC fans Hodge and Allen.

NHS money was also blown on a Butlins holiday, golf days and £1,200 worth of flights to Geneva for a Chelsea FC Champions League match.

“This case involves a fraud against the Trust,” he explained. “Hodge is the central figure, responsible for kidney dialysis equipment at three hospitals and patients’ homes.

“He engaged contractors to install and maintain equipment and was authorised by the NHS to make payments.”

The fraud was exposed when Hodge was suspended over an unrelated matter on October 8, 2013 and external payments immediately plunged by 50%, said Mr. Hopper.

“An investigation revealed a large number of invoices had been paid for work either not done at all or for prices that were excessive.

“Hodge was exploiting, abusing his position to employ friends of his who overcharged or had not done the work at all.

“Hodge profited from kick-backs from those contracts.”

Stephen Thompson

Mains Contractors received £400,00 and SJ Thompson Plumbing received £130,000, claimed the prosecution when opening the case to the jury.

A third company, TWS Southern, run Jones, of Bullbeggars Lane, Godstone received £43,000.

Following the trial, Judge Nicholas Ainley estimated the fraud to amount to approximately a quarter of a million pounds. 

“Green was laundering some of the money generated in the fraud,” explained Mr. Hopper.

“She took payments into her Lloyds account from Main Contractors, SJ Thompson Plumbing and TWS. Her account was a buffer account.”

Two months after opening a bank account in February, 2010 Main Contractors began receiving payments authorised by Hodge.

“This company was set up with the prime purpose of receiving money from the NHS Trust.

“Allen was a figurehead, a front and the pair previously had a dialysis business for visiting tourists and had a property company.

“Some of the NHS money was used to pay for property developments.

“They were two men cooking up a scam to divert money from the NHS.”

Judge Ainley said of Hodge today: “He was simply giving his friends these contracts so that the contracts could be dishonestly manipulated.

“It seems to me at the very heart of this fraud is Alan Hodge. It could not have occurred without him.”

Restraining Order For "Intense" Ex

Wimbledon Magistrates Court

An “intense” boyfriend harassed his ex for a year via phone and computer after she split-up with him.

Eugenio Bartolo, 31, of Leathfield Road, Battersea now has a restraining order preventing him contacting the woman and must complete twelve months of probation supervision.

He denied, but was convicted of harassing the Tooting woman between April 1, last year and April 12, this year – forcing her to give evidence at Wimbledon Magistrates Court.

During the trial the court heard Bartolo began talking about the couple living together after three months of dating and she broke-up with him.

She then began receiving text and WhatsApp messages from him, telling her she had made a mistake.

The victim was also forced to block him from her facebook account and then began receiving calls from a withheld phone number.

The phone conversations with Bartolo varied in length, with some lasting for hours and he would appear unannounced on her doorstep.

Eventually the victim agreed to meet him at a local coffee shop, where she told him once and for all they were finished.

She returned tickets for an ice skating event he sent her in November, last year and around the turn of the year felt he finally got the message.

However, on April 14, this year he sent her a package containing an A4-sized journal containing an account of how upset he was about their split.

Cards and photographs were also sent during the period and eventually the woman reported him to the police and he was arrested on May 12.

"F*** Judai" Synagogue Vandal Receives Suspended Prison Sentence

Pinner Synagogue

A vandal who spray-painted 'F*** Judai' on the outside wall of Pinner Synagogue has received a suspended prison sentence.

Homeless Kamil Malmon, 33, was caught on the synagogue's CCTV at 5.52am spraying the offensive words and was identified and arrested two weeks later.

He was convicted at Brent Magistrates Court of one count of religiously-aggravated criminal damage on June 10 and was sentenced to twenty-six weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months.

The court heard the synagogue's caretaker spotted the words and called the police, who took photos.

On June 28 a man on security duty called the police after identifying Malmon passing outside as the suspect caught on CCTV.

When stopped he denied the offence and told the officers: “Show me the evidence. I want to see CCTV.”

Malmon eventually conceded he was the suspect caught on CCTV, but denied spraying the offensive words.

However, the court viewed CCTV which clearly showed him removing something from his pocket and moving his arm in a spraying action directly outside the synagogue.

Malmon was also ordered to pay £620 court costs and a £115 victim surcharge. 

Ex Rugby Star Cleared Of Damaging Former Cop Neighbour's Fence

Innocent: David Pears

A retired senior Met detective has vowed to sue an ex-England rugby international, who damaged his new fence during a bitter boundary dispute.

Former Harlequins fly-half David Pears, 49, now an equities trader, admits he damaged the metal fence when pushing it back to the boundary behind his £1m Twickenham home.

Former Detective Chief Inspector William Kerans, 59, who had just paid £1500 for the fence, called 999 at 11pm on a hot night last summer and his neighbour was arrested.

However, Pears, of The Green was acquitted last week of causing criminal damage on July 7 after magistrates decided he did not intend to damage the fence he insisted was nine inches over his boundary.

“There was this sinister loud, repeated banging of an object coming into contact with metal,” Mr. Kerans, of neighbouring Albion Road told Wimbledon Magistrates Court.

“It was clear to me my wife was terrified, she was in a fragile, vulnerable state having returned home from hospital, where she had been under anaesthetic.”

He looked out of an upstairs window of his £840,000 semi and identified Pears and his wife Sally on the other side of his new fence.

“His body was repeatedly lunging against the fence and I simultaneously heard loud impact noises.

“He thrust forward and appeared to be taking running jumps to back up the sheer brute force.

"Under Attack": William Kerans

“I saw him raise both arms and attach both hands to a metal trellis on top of the fence and pull and viciously shake the trellis panels.”

Pears told the court he pushed the eight and a half feet high fence once to see if it would return to the original boundary, admitting he did dent it in doing so.

“I told the police I needed urgent assistance because my property was under attack,” added Mr. Kerans, who has had a decade-long dispute with the Pears’.

“The damage was extreme and gratuitous. I recorded nine impact points and the panels had been prised apart.

“I was extremely shaken up by the whole incident, it was a terrifying experience, I was traumatised.

“My wife was lying on the sofa in a state of catatonic shock.”

The fence repair quote is £1,509 and while the magistrates were deliberating Mr. Kerans revealed: “I’m suing him.”

When cross-examined he denied pursuing a “personal vendetta”, replying: “I’m not in the dock. The personal vendetta has been directed at my family and I.”

He also criticised Sally Pears. ”She was doing nothing to restrain her husband. She made no effort to do so, so as far as I was concerned this was a joint enterprise.

Sally & David Pears Arriving At Court

“She was doing nothing to stop her violent husband’s attack on my fence and terrorising my wife and I.”

In the morning Mr. Kerans claims he counted nine impact points on the fence and said a panel had been “torn open” and bent “top to bottom.”

The fence replaced a wooden one Pears had installed over two weekends, which Mr. Kerans objected to. “The defendant and his wife illegally erected a fence that encroached over our property.

“It strayed significantly, it zig-zagged and was of very poor quality.”

He sent Pears a letter accusing him of “arbitrarily and unilaterally” erecting a fence on his property, describing the action as “blatant, outrageous and illegal.”

The ex-detective told the court Pears’ wooden fence was “inadequate” and “not fit for purpose.”

Mr. Kerans only agreed to proceed with purchasing the house in 1995 after he was assured the fence was his, knowing how bitter boundary disputes can become.

However, the neighbours have also fallen out over trees in the Pears’ garden and the ex-rugby star reported Mr. Kerans to the police for allegedly chopping one down.

“That was a completely false and malicious allegation,” Mr. Kerans told the court. “It was preposterous.”

Playing Days

Pears said there was more trouble when he tried get a kitchen extension approved. 

“We found slanderous accusations on the council website from Mr. Kerans and over the years there have been threatening emails to myself.”

Pears’ defence team also suggested Mr. Kerans reported his neighbour’s arrest to his employers and to local newspapers at 5am the following morning.

He admitted staying up all night writing a statement about the incident, but did not admit reporting Pears to anyone, but the police.

Pears and wife Sally had just returned from their second home in north Yorkshire, even joking in the car about what they may find after two weeks away.

“Things usually happen when we are away,” he told the magistrates. “Trees get chopped and we were wondering if anything had happened.

“When we got home I found my fence had disappeared and there was a huge green fence tight against my summer house.

“The fence had been built in my garden. It was constructed on my patio area so I went up to it and pushed it to see if it would go back to the boundary.

“It made a loud noise. I pushed the fence one time and it made a bit of a noise.

“Looking at it afterwards there was a dent where I pushed it one time.”

He produced a surveyor’s report confirming the fence was intruding nine inches into his garden.

Wife Sally told the court she saw her husband push the fence twice after her told her: “Look what he’s done now.”

She added: “We’ve put up with threats for a decade, we’re use’d to it.”

The magistrates agreed the construction was an “unfamiliar fence” to Pears and he would not have known he could damage it so easily.

They found he did not intend to cause damage and was not reckless in doing so, finding him not guilty of the charge.

Cheque Fraudster Receives Suspended Sentence

Isleworth Crown Court 

A woman originally charged with twenty-three counts of cheque fraud against a single victim has received a suspended prison sentence.

Angela McIntyre, 55, of Longridge House, Rockingham Estate, Falmouth Road, Elephant and Castle was also ordered to pay £1200 compensation to the woman she defrauded.

She cashed cheques, usually worth £200, made payable to herself and signed by west London resident Gillian Morrison without the victim's knowledge.

At Isleworth Crown Court McIntyre received a twelve-month suspended prison sentence.

Jailbird On Prison Licence Nicked For Drugs Again

An ex-jailbird was caught by police throwing away a cannabis wrap as he cycled along the pavement.

Earl Robert Crisp, 42, has recently been released from a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for delivering drugs and will remain on licence until January.

Crisp, of Chatsworth Crescent, Hounslow pleaded guilty to possessing a small amount of cannabis in Library Way, Whitton on November 21.

Prosecutor Miss Mary Atere told Wimbledon Magistrates Court it was nearly 4pm when officers spotted Crisp illegally riding his bike on the pavement.

He tried to avoid another drug arrest by throwing the wrap, but it was recovered by police.

The court heard Crisp is surviving on £75-a week Tesco's vouchers and is living in temporary housing.

He says he started smoking cannabis a couple of years ago to help him during a bout of depression.

Crisp was conditionally discharged for twelve months and ordered to pay £30 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Woman Denies Chessington World Of Adventures Shoe Assault In Lift

A Leeds woman, accused of striking another woman over the head with a shoe during a row in a hotel lift, has appeared in court for the first time.

Katie O'Connor, 30, of Cross Heath Grove, Beeston claims she acted in self-defence.

She pleaded not guilty to assaulting Amy Bishop, causing her actual bodily harm, at the Safari Hotel, Chessington World of Adventures, south-west London.

O'Connor was bailed to return to Wimbledon Magistrates Court for an all-day trial on February 3, next year.

Prosecutor Miss Kerry Lingard told the court: “The defendant got into a lift the complainant was already in and there was a verbal altercation.

“It escalated with the defendant pulling the complainant's hair and hitting her on the head with a shoe heel, causing a small cut.”

The wound did not require stitches and was glued. 

Phone Caller Accused Of Sexually Explicit Messages

A gay Dorchester man, accused of making sexually-explicit nuisance phone calls to a homosexual friend, appeared in court for the first time yesterday.

Lee Jon Slater, 46, of Heathcote Close claims the calls were an innocent prank.

He pleaded not guilty to sending a communication of an indecent or offensive nature between July 18 and August 2 to estate agent Stephen Giddings, 57, of Ancaster Crescent, New Malden.

Slater was bailed to return to Wimbledon Magistrates Court for a trial on February 1, next year.

Prosecutor Miss Mary Atere told the court: “Numerous telephone calls were made to the complainant.

“On each occasion voice messages of a sexually-explicit nature where left and when he answered things like 'f*** me' were said a groaning noises made.

“The victim feels he was caused considerable distress and that he was being watched because calls were made as soon as he entered his home.”

Slater denies any malicious intent, claiming to know the complainant for twenty years, with both socialising with an openly-gay group of friends.

Suspended Sentence For Stalker Who "Meowed" Through Keira Knightley's Letterbox

Keira: "Worst Nightmare"

An oddball fan of Hollywood actress Keira Knightley, who “meowed” through the letterbox of her £3.9m north London home, has received a suspended prison sentence.

Wannabe musician Mark Edmund Revill, 49, of Glebe Road, Hackney also posted notes and sketches until he was finally chased away by the star’s husband.

He pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court to stalking the The Pirates of the Caribbean, Atonement, and Imitation Game star between August 1 and October 22.

Revill, who has expressed his love for the actress, was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months.

He was also prohibited from contacting her for an indefinite period and banned from going within 100 metres from her Islington home.

The court heard a statement from the star, who said: “I’m scared every time I go outside,” describing potential harm to her 18 month-old daughter Edie as her “worst nightmare.”

She added: “We loved living in this borough. My family enjoyed visiting local shops and playing in local parks and being close to the heartbeat of London.

“We are now looking to move house outside the borough. We had hoped our child would go to school here.

“When I return home I have to look behind me, concerned I don’t know who might be in the shadows.”   

He persistently visited the five-bedroom 2,800 square foot house in the Canonbury conservation area, even chalking an arrow on the pavement toward’s Keira’s front door.

The 31 year-old Teddington-born star shares the home with husband, former Klaxons musician James Righton, 33, and Edie.

Revill: Convicted Flasher

“It’s a celebrity stalking case. Keira Knightley is a well-known Hollywood actress and this defendant has developed an infatuation and embarked on a course of conduct,” said prosecutor Miss Simma Khan.

“Once the conduct made her become uncomfortable she felt unsafe.” Lawyers warned Revill to stop pestering the star, but were ignored.

“He’s using chalk and drawing on the pavement and there is an arrow pointing to the front door and he is personally delivering letters to the address.

“He lifted up the letterbox and started making ‘meowing’ sounds.”

The final incident ended with husband James confronting Revill, who has a conviction for flashing a female hospital worker he became obsessed with.

“Keira Knightley’s husband gives chase, telling this defendant off about his behaviour.

“It’s made the victim uncomfortable,” added Miss Khan, explaining the actress watched Revill chalking outside her home for an hour.

Regarding the hand-delivered messages she said: “One is a postcard with three cats winking and attached is a USB containing music about cats, which is odd.”

Keira’s mother revealed she had kept two more notes that were hand-delivered a secret to spare her daughter even more anxiety.

“It was the same handwriting, same unusual content that happened before. She did not tell her because she did not want to cause alarm and stress.”

One note read: ‘Have you listened my music?’ “As the complainant’s husband is a musician maybe that was for his benefit.”

Refill, who has previously received mental health treatment, has been in custody since arrested and Miss Khan added: “He said in open court he was in love with the victim.

“He made an admission to the officer that he was infatuated.”

Refill’s lawyer Mr. Bharat Gupta told the court his client did not receive any warnings from Keira’s lawyers. “Mr. Revill doesn’t agree with everything in the Crown’s case.

“It was in August when he first saw her and realises she lives there. He was just passing and found out where she lives.

“He himself is a music composer and on the day of his arrest he was playing guitar at home.

“His main purpose was to promote his music and there’s an attraction there as well as there is for many men.”

At one time the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated actress was reportedly the second highest-paid actress in Hollywood and she has been plagued by at least six stalkers.

Cash Snatched By Knifeman: CCTV Released

Police are hunting this suspect after a knife-point robbery at a Wandsworth convenience store in south-west London.

Detectives have issued this CCTV image of a man they wish to identify and speak to in connection with the incident.

On Friday June 17, police were called at around 11.35pm to a report of a robbery at the Imran Mini Market on Battersea Park Road.

The robbery was committed at 11.20pm and a quantity of cash was stolen.

CCTV footage from within the shop caught the suspect walk in brandishing a knife in his right hand before threatening a 37-year-old member of staff who was behind the counter.

The staff member refused to hand over any cash, so the suspect went behind the counter and grabbed the coins left on top of the till before running out of the shop.

The suspect is described as a medium built white man, aged in his twenties.

He was wearing a grey hooded Adidas tracksuit top, black trousers and white trainers.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who may recognise the man shown in the footage.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 quoting reference number 216810 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Bank Customer Attacked In Street: Woman Robber Hunted

Police are hunting a female mugger after a 68 year-old man was knocked to the ground and had cash he'd withdrawn from a bank snatched.

Police in Haringey have released this image of a woman they would like to speak to in connection with the robbery, which left the victim suffering a hip injury.

On Friday, February 5 at 1.00pm, the victim was walking along Tottenham High Road, Tottenham, having used a cash machine inside Santander bank, Fore Street.

The victim was unaware he had been spotted by a woman inside the bank who followed him along the High Road.

As he approached Langhedge Lane, the woman pounced from behind and pushed him to the ground, taking the money from his jacket pocket.

The victim sustained an injury to his hip as a result of robbery and was taken by London Ambulance Service to a north London hospital where he was later discharged.

The suspect is described as a black woman, possibly of mixed race, aged around 40 to 45 years-old and was seen wearing a long dark jacket.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident is urged to call Haringey CID on 0203 276 3087 or via 101. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Curry House Sex Assault: Waiter Wanted

A curry house waiter is being hunted by police after a young woman collecting a late-night takeaway was molested outside the restaurant.

The sexual assault took place on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at about 10.30pm outside the Prithi Bangladeshi and Indian restaurant in Ewell Road, Surbiton, Kingston-upon-Thames.

The 22-year-old victim was visiting the restaurant to collect a take-away meal.

As she left the restaurant the suspect, who was working as a waiter, sexually assaulted her.

The suspect is described as aged in his 30s and may be known as either Mohammed Sala Huddin Ahmed or Moyen Qureshi.

He is a Bangladeshi male, about 5ft 3inches tall with short, dark hair.

Detective Constable Iain Millar of Kingston CID said: "We continue to appeal to trace this man and believe he may now be working in the Cambridge area.

“He has worked in numerous restaurants and also has links to the Thames Valley area and the West Midlands.

“I would appeal to anyone who recognises this man, or knows where he is, to contact police.”

If anyone has seen the suspect or has any information on his whereabouts, please contact Detective Constable Millar of Kingston CID on 101 quoting reference CRIS 0410433/13.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Knifeman's Attack On Shopkeeper And Son

A knifeman, who held a large blade to the throats of a shopkeeper and his teenage son, is being hunted by the police.

This CCTV image of the suspect has been released by officers based in Hillingdon Borough, west London.

On Saturday, May 14, police were called at around 10.35pm to a report of a robbery at Taal Food and Wine in Field End Road, Ruislip.

CCTV footage taken from within the shop captured images of the suspect attacking the 49-year-old shop owner and his teenage son with a large kitchen knife whilst demanding money from the till.

A struggle broke out behind the confined space of the counter where the shopkeeper sustained serious lacerations to his hands as he tried to protect both himself and defend his young son, who had been pinned down in the corner of the shop.

The suspect held the knife to the shop keeper's throat and then to the teenage boy's throat, when he tried to escape.

The victim was taken to a west London hospital for treatment before he was later discharged.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who may recognise the man shown on CCTV.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Peter Boyd on 020 8246 1732, quoting reference 0909609/16 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Ex-Conservative Leader And Home Secretary Lord Michael Howard Convicted After Car Caught Speeding

Lord & Lady Howard Arriving At Court

Former Tory leader Michael Howard has been convicted of failing to say who was driving his car when it was caught by a speed camera.

Lord Howard, 75, and his wife Sandra, 76, both claimed either could have been driving their Toyota Prius, which was clocked at 37.3 mph in a 30mph zone.

The former Home Secretary and Leader of the Opposition was fined £900, with £625 costs, plus a £90 victim surcharge and received six penalty points on his driving licence.

The couple admit one of them was behind the wheel of the car as it sped along Lewisham Way, south east London on January 24.

Lord and Lady Howard, a novelist and ex-model, were returning from a weekend at their Kent home in his former constituency of Folkestone and Hythe to their Westminster address.

Lord Howard, of Alderney Street was convicted of failing to give information relating to the identification of a vehicle to the Metropolitan Police.

Prosecutor Mr. Andrew Perry told Wimbledon Magistrates Court: “Shrugging your shoulders and saying: ‘I can’t remember’ is not enough.

“He said: ‘It could be me, it could be my wife. We make that journey regularly and we can’t remember who was driving.”

Lord Howard fought the case and even called his wife as a witness to back up his account.

“When I’m with my wife, which is regularly, we have no regular routine,” the QC said from the witness box. 

“We were driving back from Kent, a journey we make very regularly and who drives depends on circumstances of whether one of us is tired, has work to do or is reading.

“We have a home in Kent where we go for weekends in my former constituency.”

When asked again if he recalled who was driving Lord Howard said: “I very much wish that I did, unfortunately I don’t.”

Because the couple were holidaying in Grenada they did not receive the notification letter until over three weeks after the speeding offence.

“I tried as hard as I could to remember who was driving. It was almost a month before. I simply couldn’t remember.

“Neither of us has any desire to escape the consequences of our actions. I couldn’t truthfully complete the form.”

He has three points on his licence for speeding in 2014 and Lady Howard has an old conviction for the same offence.

“I have no incentive to dissemble about this matter. I’d rather the driver was identified.

“We frequently change over during the course of the journey. It’s a sixty-five mile journey.”

Lady Howard told the court: “We were not trying to hide anything. We simply couldn’t remember.”

District Judge Barbara Barnes did not criticise the couple’s evidence, describing them both as “credible.”

She added: “The defendant did speak to his wife to try and remember who was driving. They did rack their brains.”

However, Lord Howard should have initially given full details of who the other driver could have been, including name, age and address, rather than simply saying his ‘wife.’

“At no stage did the defendant provide the particulars of his wife in his letter. To simply refer to his ‘wife’ does not provide sufficient information.  

“The reasonable diligence has not been made out and I’m not in a position to give any credit since there was no plea of guilty.”

Afterwards Lord Howard said: “I intend to appeal.”

Rugby Star Landed Boozy Blow After Night's Drinking

Newcastle Falcons rugby star Dan Temm punched a man to the floor and tried to stamp on him during a drunken night out.

The six feet four, sixteen stone flanker, 25, got caught up in early hours violence in Wimbledon Broadway, south-west London. 

New Zealand-born Temm, of Featherstone Grove, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour, with intent to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence, on July 11. 

Prosecutor Miss Frances Lockhart told the court it was 4am when a CCTV operator recorded potential trouble.

“Mr. Tamm was in Wimbledon Broadway after a night out drinking and got involved in an argument and punches were thrown by another man towards him.

“Mr. Tamm stepped away and offered no violence and then a third person attempted to neutralise the situation.

“The defendant then punched this third person in the face and knocked him to the ground.

“While on the ground Mr. Tamm attempted to stamp on him.”

Two police officers witnessed him decking the man. PC Greg Barnett said in a statement: “I saw a man pull his arm back and punch another male, knocking him to the floor. 

“He tried to kick the man in the head, who was lying in the middle of the road.” 

“I saw a white male in a black and grey top throw another man to the floor and repeatedly try to kick him in the head,” noted WPC Michaela Pearce.

It is not the first time Temm, who ended up playing professional rugby in the Aviva Premiership after initially coming to the UK to play cricket, has used violence in this country.

The court heard he was convicted of battery in June, last year, when he was conditionally discharged for three months.

Mr. Mark Haslam, defending, said: “The man who was hit gets up almost immediately afterwards and never gives a statement and there is no evidence he ever had an injury.

“He made numerous attempts to avoid physical violence by backing away,” said the lawyer of the Falcons rugby 7s captain.

“The defendant seeks on numerous occasions to avoid confrontation, but overreacts after a long period of provocation.”

Mr. Haslam viewed CCTV of the incident at Sutton Police Station: “The defendant can be seen making strenuous efforts not to get involved.

“He runs backwards for a minute ducking and weaving and on two occasions Mr. Tamm was put to the ground and kicked while on the ground.

“The events began earlier at 3.45am. There is a dispute between two groups of young men and the aggression from the outset came from the other group.

“He unfortunately retaliated after the violent pursuit of him and the provocation.

“He accepts he had been drinking, but there is nothing to say he was fighting drunk.”

Magistrate Ms. Vanessa Weguelin told Temm: “You were involved in a very unpleasant melee. We accept it was long and sustained and you did try and extricate yourself.”

He was fined £350, with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £35 victim surcharge.