A 63-year-old widower has been given a £1,250 bill by the courts for attacking a taxi driver - an assault he still denies.
Thomas Petch, formerly of Guisborough, was with two other men who took a taxi from Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough at 2am on July 19 last year.
The cabbie said he was verbally abused during the journey until he got sick of it, parked the car and asked the men to get out.
He said he was punched in the face causing swelling and an injury to his lip, said prosecutor Alan Davison at Teesside Magistrates’ Court today.
Petch denied the assault and was found guilty by magistrates after a trial.
He was in breach of a conditional discharge imposed almost three weeks before the incident.
Kate Clark, defending, said Petch still denied the offence.
He told a probation worker he had drunk about five pints before the incident, his first drink in over a year as he only drank at celebrations and family gatherings.
Petch had moved from Guisborough when his wife died in October 2013 after a short illness and he now lived with his son and granddaughter.
He was self-employed and renovated properties to sell or rent.
District Judge Stephen Harmes told Petch: “This was a stupid mistake.
“You’ve been convicted of punching a taxi driver who was trying to do a public service. That makes it serious.”
Petch, now of Mill Lane, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, was fined £750 and ordered to pay £250 compensation and £250 costs.
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