Actor Stephen Tompkinson ‘punched noisy man causing brain injury’

Actor Stephen Tompkinson punched a drunk man to the floor causing him traumatic brain injuries because he was angry at the noise he was making outside his home, a court has heard.

Stephen Tompkinson, 57, is accused of attacking Karl Poole on May 30 2021 outside his home in Whitley Bay. He denies a charge of grievous bodily harm.

A jury at Newcastle Crown Court heard about two calls made to emergency services on the evening of the alleged incident.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch said as reported by ChronicleLive: “Two calls were made to the emergency services between 5.30 and 6 o’clock on the morning of the 30th of May 2021. 

“The first call was from the defendant, contacting police about two drunken men outside his address.

“The second, made just a short time later, came from a neighbour to report one of those two men was lying unconscious in the street.

“What happened between those two calls is the question you will have to decide in the course of this trial.

“The prosecution say the defendant, angry at the noise the two men were making, ended up punching one of them, knocking him to the floor so that he banged his head and sustained traumatic brain injuries.

“The defendant claims he did not more than push away the man in self-defence after the two had come towards him.”

Neighbour Caroline Davidson lives diagonally across from Tompkinson on Beech Grove in Whitley Bay.

She said she had been woken on the Sunday morning by two men “laughing and carrying on in the street”.

Mr Brunch said: “She looked out of her upstairs window to see the two lying on the path to the left of the defendant’s home address. She could see that one of them, Mr Poole, had on only his underpants, with a towel lying on the path next to him. Mr Hall had on a t-shirt and shorts. Content that they were simply carrying on, Mrs Davidson went back to bed.

“However around five minutes later she was further disturbed, hearing another voice outside. She went back to her bedroom window and again looked out. This time she could see the two men had been joined by the defendant, who was standing on his driveway speaking to the two men.

“She recognised the defendant as the man who lived diagonally across the road from her. She had never spoken to him but recognised him as having moved in two or three years earlier. She couldn’t hear what her neighbour was saying but she formed the view from hand gestures he was making that he was telling them to get on their way.”

Mr Bunch added: “It appeared one of the men said something back to her neighbour. She saw the neighbour draw back his fist before apparently thinking better of it and lowering his hand.

“The two men, who were clearly heavily drunk, tried to get to their feet. Mr Poole could hardly stand upright. Mr Hall had to help him keep his feet.

“The two made their way a short distance before stopping, possibly because the defendant had said something further to them. By now, they were on the footpath at the end of the defendant’s driveway; he remained in the middle of the drive.”

Mrs Davidson described in her witness statement how Tompkinson first slapped Mr Poole with his right hand before punching him to the head with his left fist’.

Mr Bunch said: “Mrs Davidson watched as the defendant approached the two men, who were wobbling from side to side. The defendant first slapped Mr Poole with his right hand before punching him to the head with his left fist. Mr Poole stumbled and then fell backwards striking his head on the roadway, where he lay unconscious.

“Concerned for what she had seen, Mrs Davidson asked her husband to call the ambulance service.

“The defendant had also called the police at some point during this sequence, it would appear after he first spoke to them because he told the police he had taken a bottle of Jagermeister from them and wanted them moving on.”

The court was told how Tompkinson then used his mobile phone to record two separate clips of the two men’

Mr Bunch added: “After Mr Poole had gone to the floor, the defendant used his mobile phone to record two separate clips of the two men. He did not, however, contact the ambulance service himself.”

The trial continues.

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