A man has been jailed for a road-rage incident in which he wounded a motorist with a screwdriver.

Brian Munns, 64, flew into a rage after the victim’s car accidentally collided with the back of his vehicle after Munns had failed to move off at traffic lights during rush hour on a busy road in Harrogate.

York Crown Court heard that Munns got out of his car armed with a screwdriver and the much-younger victim, who was driving home from work, got out of his vehicle.

The two men squared up and a fight broke out in front of horrified pedestrians, said prosecutor Erin Kitson-Parker.

Munns, whose vehicle had ‘L’ plates on, punched the victim and struck him with the screwdriver in his hand, causing a deep chest wound as two other men desperately tried to pull them apart.

Ms Kitson-Parker said that the victim was driving home from work along Otley Road at about 6pm on April 11, 2024, when he pulled up behind a car with ‘L’ plates on at traffic lights.

She said:

The victim’s car collided with the back of Munns’ vehicle, apparently due to Munns’ “aggressive braking”, although no damage was caused to either vehicle.

Ms Kitson-Parker added:

The victim got out of his vehicle, whereupon Munns punched him after telling him: “I’m going to fxxxxxx kill you.”

“The (victim) blocked the punch but the defendant punched him with his left hand in an upper-cut motion,” said the prosecutor.

Munns then struck another blow to the victim’s chest with the hand which was wielding the screwdriver.

She added:

Headlock and headbutt

The victim put the defendant in a headlock and threw a few punches himself, as well as a headbutt, as the two men held each other in a clinch and grappled in the street.

The fight continued for about seven minutes as cars had to drive around the victim’s car which was parked at an angle on a junction.

A man in a nearby house filmed the incident which showed a female jogger running past the incident and a man walking his dog as pedestrians gathered around the unfolding chaos.

Two men tried in vain to prise the warring parties apart and another flagged a police car down as it arrived at the scene.

As Munns was arrested, he told officers: “You’ll wonder why I had a screwdriver. It’s used to change the dual control when needed.”

The victim was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary where he was treated for a two-inch wound to his upper chest wall. He also had scratches to his stomach, a bite mark on his forearm and bruising.

He had to undergo an ultrasound and CT scan and was told that had the wound occurred a few millimetres “further over” it could have severed a major artery.

He was told that possible damage to his blood vessels around the wound “couldn’t be excluded”.

Munns – formerly of Tealbeck Approach, Otley, but now of Harrogate Road in Rawdon, Leeds - was charged with wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon, namely the screwdriver, but denied the offence. He was found guilty of the offences after a trial at York Magistrates’ Court in March.

The previous month, at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court, he admitted breaching a non-molestation order by turning up on the street where his ex-partner lived.

Banned from entering Eleanor Drive

Munns, who is a father, had been banned from entering Eleanor Drive in Harrogate, where his former partner lived, but he allegedly turned up on the street in the summer of last year and on “numerous” previous occasions.

He admitted the offence on the basis that he only turned up in the street on one occasion and that he was visiting his new partner, who also lived on Eleanor Drive, for “emotional support after work” because he was struggling with his mental health. The prosecution accepted this basis of plea.

He appeared for sentence on all matters today (April 22) when the prosecution outlined his criminal record consisting of three previous convictions, including a previous wounding in 1984 and a previous breach of the non-molestation order.

In a victim-impact statement read out by the prosecution, his ex-partner said that Munns’ actions had had a “grave” impact on her life and “severely” affected her mental health. At one stage she had to move into temporary accommodation.

Defence barrister Braxton Handa said that Munns, a supermarket worker, had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for which he was taking medication. He could lose his job if he were jailed.

She said that the screwdriver he had in his car at the time of the road-rage incident was simply there to fix any problem with his vehicle.

‘You armed yourself with a weapon’

Judge Simon Hickey told Munns: 

He said there was no option but to send Munns to jail for “attacking someone with a weapon in a busy public street”.

Munns was given a 12-month jail sentence for the wounding and one month consecutive for breaching the non-molestation order.

He was told he would serve less than half of the total 13-month sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

The judge also made a seven-year restraining order banning Munns from contacting his ex-partner and going to any workplace or address where he knows her to be living or staying.