Road rage motorist hit man with wheel brace during Camelon incident

Elliot Towler (23) claimed he feared the man he attacked was going to set his dog on him and that was why he armed himself with the wheel brace.

Appearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday, Towler admitted the assault he committed in Dorrator Road, Camelon on August 30 last year.

Procurator fiscal depute Graham McLachlan said: “The complainer was crossing the road when he noticed a white Volkswagen Polo driven at speed by the accused coming towards him.

“The complainer told the accused to ‘watch your speed’. At that point the accused got out of his vehicle and more words were exchanged. The accused brought a wheel brace from the car and approached the complainer and struck him on the back of the neck with the wheel brace.

“This caused the complainer to fall to the ground and the accused then left the scene. Police managed to trace him through his vehicle registration. The complainer said he had some pain to the back of the neck where he had been struck by the item, but he didn’t require medical treatment.”

Stephen Biggam, defence solicitor, said: “He is not the confrontational type. When he got out of the car it was to apologise to the complainer and tell him he was actually keeping to the road’s speed limit.

“The accused felt he was going to set his dog on him – it was for that reason he had the wheel brace. He made one bad decision and it led to another. They had a brief struggle during which the wheel brace contacted with the man’s neck.”

Sheriff Michael Fletcher said: “This is a serious offence because a weapon was involved and it was a road rage matter, but there was no injury.”

Towler, 4 Castleview, Cumbernauld, was placed on a community payback order with the condition he complete 120 hours of unpaid work within six months.