Furious customer, 63, left Amazon driver crying and covered in blood after beating him up when the victim knocked on his door to deliver a package while he was watching a football match on TV
A furious Amazon customer who viciously beat up a delivery driver after he was interrupted while watching a football match on TV has avoided prison.
Colin Hunt, 63, claims he was 'severely provoked' by the delivery driver who allegedly spat at him during the episode, Hull Crown Court heard.
He then sought revenge by punching the courier during a 'prolonged and persistent' beating.
Hunt, of Henry Street, Goole, denied causing actual bodily harm but was convicted after a trial at Beverley Magistrates' Court. The case was committed to Hull Crown Court for sentencing.
Abigail Rowley, prosecuting, said the driver knocked on the door of Hunt's home to deliver a parcel for Amazon at 3.17pm on March 12 last year.
Miss Rowley said: 'He could hear shouting from inside the property.'
Hunt appeared at the window before opening the door with force. He asked the delivery driver: 'Why the f*** are you knocking like that? I am watching the football.'
Colin Hunt, 63, of Henry Street, Goole, East Yorkshire, who was sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work after he was found guilty of causing actual bodily harm
Hunt stood very close to the man, causing the driver to step backwards, and as the man handed the parcel over, Hunt punched him on the nose. The man staggered backwards and Hunt pushed his thumb into the man's eye.
They wrestled with one another before the delivery driver managed to get Hunt off him. Hunt approached him and threw clenched-fist punches at him, two of which hit him in the head.
The driver tried to get back to his van but Hunt continued to throw punches, which the man tried to block. The driver managed to walk to his van but Hunt pressed him against it and he continued to throw punches.
The driver threw a punch in self-defence but Hunt launched five or six more punches, mostly aimed at the man's head. Hunt pulled him to the floor and he continued to shout and to throw punches at his body.
The driver punched Hunt, allowing him to get inside his delivery van and he shouted for the police.
Miss Rowley said: 'He drove further down the street in an attempt to distance himself.' Hunt returned to the van but the driver told him to get away and he pressed the van's horn.
Hunt, of Henry Street, Goole, denied causing actual bodily harm but was convicted after a trial. The case was committed to Hull Crown Court (pictured) for sentencing
Police attended and the driver was visibly distressed and crying. There was blood inside the van, the court heard.
Miss Rowley continued: 'Blood was running down his face It was a prolonged and persistent assault with multiple punches thrown. The victim was vulnerable due to the circumstances that he was a delivery driver just doing his job.'
The victim later said: 'I come to work every day and I do not expect to be assaulted by a customer for delivering what they have requested to be delivered.'
Hunt, a supermarket worker, told the court that he had never denied punching the delivery driver but he did dispute the number of times he was said to have hit the man.
Hunt said: 'I agree that everybody should be able to go about their job without fear of being attacked. I was severely provoked.'
The defendant claimed that the delivery driver spat at him and this was what enraged him. Hunt added: 'Nobody expects to be spat at. I totally accept that I reacted badly to all that. I feel that I was severely provoked.'
Recorder Simon Jackson KC told Hunt: 'What you did was way beyond any form of self-defence because you were not under attack at that stage.'
Hunt, who has no previous convictions, was given 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation. He was ordered to pay £705 costs.
Recorder Jackson said that he accepted Hunt's claim that the driver spat at him, adding: 'I am satisfied that you would not have acted in the way that you did unless you had been provoked.'
'You went back in your house but you couldn't leave it and you went back out again. There are anger issues when you are stressed.'
