The pensioner filmed the incident on his helmet cameras
Lee Kerrison appeared at Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A 75-year-old cyclist suffered a fractured jaw and a broken nose when he was repeatedly punched by another man during a “horrific” attack. A bad-tempered confrontation between the two men on a cycle path quickly turned violent and the pensioner thought that it was going to be his “last day on earth”.
The pair exchanged tetchy words after the elderly cyclist headed towards a gate and wanted to ride past the other man but trouble soon escalated from that, Hull Crown Court heard. Lee Kerrison, 44, of Dorchester Road, Bransholme, Hull, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the pensioner on May 24.
Kirsten Lowes, prosecuting, said that the 75-year-old man was riding along a cycle path in the Leads Road area of Hull when he approached a gate in Lindengate Avenue. Kerrison was standing near the gate.
The cyclist asked Kerrison to move out of the way and he did so but he told the pensioner: “The words are: ‘Excuse me’. It’s ‘Excuse me, please’.” The cyclist asked Kerrison what his problem was and there was a confrontation.
The cyclist could have handled the situation better, the court heard. He sprayed red identification and detection paint on Kerrison from a can.
He carried this on him for his own protection. “He was fearful of what the defendant would do, that’s why he sprayed him,” said Miss Lowes.
Kerrison repeatedly punched him, causing serious injuries, including a fractured jaw, a broken nose and the loss of two lower teeth, which could not be put back in. A passer-by alerted the police.
The pensioner filmed the incident on front-and-back helmet cameras. He told Kerrison: “It’s all on camera” during the confrontation.
“It was a prolonged and persistent attack,” said Miss Lowes. The pensioner later said: “Nothing could prepare me for what happened.
“He pulled me from my bike and started punching me. I thought that it was going to be my last day on earth. My confidence has been shaken to the core.”
He condemned the “horrific” attack as “despicable” and said that he had been left feeling “totally devastated and deeply saddened”. The pensioner was left having to pay for dentures and prescription sunglasses.
Kerrison had convictions for 45 previous offences, including being jailed in May 2016 for two-and-a-half years for assault, causing actual bodily harm, in which he threw a piece of masonry at his father’s head.
He had been jailed in 2005 for 15 months for wounding. Other convictions included assault with intent to resist arrest, possessing an offensive weapon and threatening behaviour.
Julia Baggs, mitigating, said that Kerrison pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. He did pause the “impulsive and “spontaneous” attack and he apologised and tried to help the cyclist up.
“It was completely avoidable and completely unnecessary,” said Miss Baggs. “He was deeply upset and distressed to relive the incident.
“He knows he reacted badly to what could have been a few cross words. It went far beyond that. It was inexcusable.
“He was having a difficult day. He was feeling unwell. He is deeply remorseful about his actions that day. He deeply regrets his behaviour. He is disgusted at what he did to him.”
Kerrison told the court: “I am so, so sorry. That is not me. That is not who I am. I am disgusted in myself.” Kerrison, who had been on bail, was jailed for 18 months.
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