A FATHER who broke the finger of a retired man in a "terrifying" road-rage incident on a busy Bradford road has avoided jail.

Damien Blessington, 40, was driving his Vauxhall Astra in the Thornton Road area of the city when he overtook another car at around 60mph in a 30mph zone on September 9 last year.

In response to the defendant's speeding, the driver of the other vehicle, Michael Riley, a man in his 60's travelling with his wife, flashed his lights at Blessington as he passed him.

Prosecutor Peter Yates told Bradford Crown Court that as the two stopped at a set of traffic lights, Blessington got out and made a "come-on" gesture to Mr Riley.

He managed to drive around him, but a few minutes later, Blessington caught up with his vehicle and drove alongside him for a few seconds gesturing at him.

The defendant then overtook the car and stopped sharply in front of it, forcing Mr Riley to "slam on the brakes."

Blessington again got out of his car and Mr Riley described his actions as "furious", shouting and swearing at him.

The defendant opened his victim's driver's door and then slammed it shut on Mr Riley's arm, breaking his finger and causing a "large lump and bruise" on his elbow.

As Mr Riley's car rolled forward nearer to Blessington's Astra, he said: "If you f**king hit my car I'll f**king kill you."

He then hit the window of Mr Riley's car, leaving marks later used as fingerprint evidence, before driving away from the scene.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Riley, who had his arm bandaged for four weeks, said his wife had tried to call the police during his altercation with Blessington but had been unable to as she was so scared.

He said he "couldn't believe somebody could be in such a rage" for being flashed for speeding, adding: "I honestly thought he was going to drag me out of the car."

Alastair Bateman, defending, said Blessington, of Sheldon Ridge, Bierley, Bradford, was "genuinely disgusted" at his conduct on the day of the offence.

He said the father-of-three, who is the sole carer for one of his children, was about to start a new job and had referred himself for anger management counselling since the incident.

Addressing Mr Bateman, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, said: "Your client is not a puny individual. He is a formidable younger man.

"He was using his car to sustain a terrifying road-rage incident."

Judge Durham Hall told Blessington, who pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and driving without due care and attention, he had shown "disgraceful cowardly behaviour."

He said: "You terrified Mr and Mrs Riley, perfectly law-abiding people. They were doing no more that tootling along in the Thornton Road area.

"Mr Riley expressed his upset at the risk you were causing. You, utterly incredibly, flew into a rage.

"You caused not insignificant injuries. You shouted and swore and bawled, you terrified this couple. You can feel how unsettled and frightened they were."

Judge Durham Hall said an onerous community order would be more of a punishment for Blessington that a short custodial sentence, and would address his underlying anger issues.

MORE TOP STORIES

He jailed Blessington for nine months, suspended for a year, and ordered him to complete a 21-day accredited programme, a ten-day rehabilitation requirement, and 120 hours of unpaid work.

He also ordered the defendant to pay £1,200 to Mr Riley, stating: "I can compensate Mr Riley for this appalling act that caused him deep-seated trauma."