Dog warden cleared of road rage assault

A dog warden from Whitchurch has been cleared by a jury of carrying out a violent road rage attack which the victim had said left him with a fractured jaw and needing titanium plates in his head.

Astin Martin Ralph-Smith, of Hall Green Holdings, Iscoyd, was found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm, after a Mold Crown Court heard the injured man had been hit by his own car door.

The 24-year-old walked free from court yesterday after being found not guilty following a three-day trial.

The court heard that in the alleged attack former private detective Mark Hughes was punched in the head three times following a spat at Shotton on Deeside on February 9 last year.

Giving evidence, Mr Ralph-Smith told jurors he was not the aggressor and had not laid a finger on the other driver – apart from to push him away.

Mr Hughes, who told the court he was shocked at the violence his attacker used, suffered a fractured jaw and two titanium plates had to be inserted to fix the damage.

During the trial the court heard two versions of what happened. Prosecutor Kim Halsall claimed that Mr Ralph-Smith lost control and punched Mr Hughes three times to the left side of the face.

But the defendant denied he was the aggressor, claiming that Mr Hughes had reversed and kicked his own car door open, which bounced back at him.

Defence barrister Ben Morris claimed that was when the jaw fracture may have occurred, a claim described as 'absolute nonsense' by Mr Hughes.

Mr Ralph-Smith said that Mr Hughes was aggressive towards him and gripped him around the throat. He said his only contact was to push him away, and his girlfriend had grabbed Mr Hughes's wrists in a bid to diffuse the situation, the court heard.

The prosecution called two women who said they saw the incident. But the defence accused them of agreeing a story to support Mr Hughes – a claim they all denied.