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news
Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgDriver convicted after reversing into cyclists and calling them “English bastards”
A driver who reversed into a group of cyclists then called them “English bastards” as he drove away has been convicted by a court in Wales of dangerous driving, failure to stop, and racially aggravated harassment by using threatening or abusive words or behaviour.
Gareth Jones. Aged 71, pleaded not guilty at Caernarforn Magistrates’ Court to all three charges, reports Wales Online.
The incident happened on an unclassified road near Beaumaris on Anglesey last summer as the cyclists headed towards Llandegfan.
Clare Bate, prosecuting, said that the bike riders “had to take evasive action to avoid being struck” when Jones overtook them in his Kia Sportage.
The rider leading the group, Valentin Scambraks aked Jones, “What the hell are you doing?”
In response Jones stopped, and told Mr Scambraks: “You're not Welsh. You're an English bastard.”
Jones then drove forward briefly before reversing into the group, with his vehicle’s rear bumper hitting the bike belonging to Mr Scambraks.
One of the riders, Tiernan Ryan, told the court that Jones had said, “Go back to England,” in response to which Mr Scambraks replied: “I'm from the Netherlands, I’m not English’.”
According to Mr Ryan, the motorist “purposefully reversed to try to intimidate us.”
Another rider, Will Holloway, said that “it was an uncomfortable speed to be reversing towards some people.”
Jones, who represented himself, told the court that he had been heading to Ysbyty Gwtynnedd to see his brother and that he had not been speeding on the road, which he had regularly driven along.
He claimed that as he rounded a bend, he encountered a “gang” of riders whom he described as “spread out across the road.”
He also insisted that photos taken at the scene by a couple who were out walking and which had been shared with the cyclists were staged, that the bike had been pushed into his vehicle, and that he had been verbally abused by the cyclists.
Under cross-examination, he denied having called Mr Scambraks “an English bastard,” conceding that “I might have called him an English snob.”
But he said: “How would you feel if someone called you a Welsh bastard? I would feel aggrieved.
"I'm Welsh. I'm proud to be Welsh and they verbally abused me," he added.
Jones was convicted on all three charges and will be sentenced next month. In the meantime has been handed a temporary driving ban.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
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46 comments
I prefer Hamster/Elderberry hybrid.
Imagine living in some of the most peaceful and scenic parts of the UK and still having this much bottled anger
Would the cyclists be justified in calling him a sheep shagger then?
Only if he was involved in styling their fleeces into an artistically tangled style. Or engaging in carnal intercourse with them.
Is that a failure to prevent someone using threats and abuse to racially harass people, or a failure to use threats and abuse to prevent someone committing racial harassment?
Boomer from Boomerville.
"He who represents himself has a fool for a client"
Not sure if that's universally true, but it's very apt in this instance
Hehe yes for sure. I was particularly tickled by this statement "But he said: “How would you feel if someone called you a Welsh bastard? I would feel aggrieved."
Because isn't that exactly the point the prosecution was making?
It's not entirely clear from the report above, but I understood him to be alleging that they actually called him a Welsh bastard, that he was aggrieved and that he responded, rather than it being a hypothetical question to the prosecution.
As something of an old lag, I can confirm that the 'fool for a client' assertion is completely true.
sounds like there's a story or two behind that post!
Racially aggravated harassment & hatred of cyclists. Nice fellow
Only the English ones
Or in this case, dutch
I know English people who have lived there for decades. Due to the uni & hospital in Bangor, the tourist appeal of Snowdonia and the coast and the busy ferry terminal at Holyhead, this area has significant in-migration so the cyclists could easily have been local residents. I usually go out riding on Anglesey when I'm there so will try to keep an eye out for a white Kia Sportage.
Would it be xenophobic rather than racial if they are all white?
He was found guilty of racially aggravated harrassment, so I assume reference to nationality counts the same as race under the law?
'English' is/are a race, hence racial harassment.
Race is an entirely social construct.
It can mean whatever you want it to mean!
Aren't "constructs" a construct though?
Really? How does one qualify?
Are a group of TT riders a race? Asking for a fiend...
I saw what you did there...
No - it's a disqualification.
IS a group... Correcting for a licensed door mirror.
Beetlejuice.
I'm not convinced about that.
"English" can mean "my ancestors came over from France a thousand years ago" or "my parents came over from France the year before I was born and took up British citizenship".
It can mean "my ancestors were brought here from Africa in the eighteenth century and their descendants have lived here ever since" or it can mean "my parents came here in the nineteen sixties and I was born here".
It can mean "my dad was from Caerphilly, my mum is from Edinburgh, but I grew up in London and have always lived here".
It can even mean "I paid a huge amount of money to the Government so now hold a British passport".
I'm not convinced that nationality or even declared nationality are the same thing as race.
I understand that the racial identity of the victim does not have to be demonstrated, rather whether the act of harassment was motivated by bias around race as the accused perceives it.
For once Rich below is correct, there are no objective definitions of race, only subjective and cultural meanings and inferences.
I can add something to that.
A few years ago (pre-Covid when I dressed smartly to come to the office) I was walking in Bristol city centre on my lunch break.
Wearing a dark grey three-piece suit, shirt and tie, black overcoat and a black hat (if it matters, I have a beard and glasses).
Three man walking past me, then stopped and shouted at me about "F-ing Jews!" (and I mean properly in-yer-face about it).
So, given that I am not Jewish, was that antisemitic harassment?
Are you a spy?
Nah a hipster. He probably had an avocado under the hat
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