A Yeovil man who attacked another male in the street by throwing him to the ground was acting out of revenge at the time.

George William Darch became involved in a scuffle with the victim as he walked through Yeovil town centre and then grabbed his mobile phone and tablet and damaged them.

When he appeared in the dock before Somerset Magistrates his solicitor Ray Peters said that his client had acted in the way he did as his younger brother claimed he had been assaulted by the complainant a few days earlier.

Darch, 23, of Dorchester Road, pleaded guilty to assaulting Daniel Waite by beating him at Yeovil on December 17 last year.

He also admitted damaging his mobile phone and tablet during the same incident when he appeared in court at Yeovil.

Emma Lenanton, prosecuting, said that the victim was walking to his mother’s address when he passed through Earle Street and met the defendant.

“Darch wanted to speak to him and was angry and made various accusations about a previous incident and then accepted a scuffle occurred between them,” she said.

“During the altercation the defendant threw Mr Waite to the ground and admitted throwing his tablet and mobile phone to the floor.

“He did not accept claims that he had picked the victim back up by his neck or that he had stamped on the phone and tablet.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court Mr Waite said the assault had exacerbated his existing anxiety and depression.

He said: “I don’t want to walk on the street anymore and it has made me feel I cannot visit my mother’s address anymore as the defendant parks near her address.”

His mobile phone’s screen was damaged after being thrown to the ground and the tablet was completely destroyed.

The case was heard at Yeovil Magistrates' Court
The case was heard at Yeovil Magistrates' Court

Mr Waite also sustained a scratch to his right elbow and grazing to his right knee.

Mr Peters said that Darch lived with his parents and at the end of last year was “in a bad place.”

“The reason why he approached the victim was because a few days before this incident the defendant’s younger brother had returned home very distressed,” he said.

“He came home without his shoes and said he had been assaulted by the victim, so when Darch saw Mr Waite things clearly got heated and out of hand.”

He said the injuries sustained by the victim were relatively minor adding that Darch’s life had since improved and he had started full-time work as an HGV driver.

The magistrates fined the defendant £133 and ordered him to pay Mr Waite £100 compensation for the damage to his phone and tablet.

They rejected an application by the prosecution for a restraining order to be made against Darch saying they did not feel it was necessary or proportionate in the circumstances.

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