Angry taxi driver beat his neighbour's head with a stick leaving 4in gash in row over dog damaging fence

A taxi driver left his neighbour with a four-inch gash after battering him over the head with a wooden pole during a row over damage to a fence.

Mohammed Arif, 38, was arrested after launching into Robert Martin at his home in Erdington, Birmingham, last October.

The attack followed a long-running dispute over a fence which the neighbours of seven years shared.

Attack: Taxi driver Mohammed Arif, pictured, left his neighbour with a four-inch gash after battering him over the head with a wooden pole during a row over damage to a fence

At Birmingham Crown Court today, Arif was handed a 12-month prison sentence - suspended for 18 months - after he admitted unlawful wounding.

He was also given a restraining order banning him from contacting Mr Martin and his family.

Following the sentencing, Mr Martin spoke of his ordeal.

 

'I had a four-inch open wound and needed 17 metal staples,' he said. 'I also lost a lot of blood.

'I now get panicky and stressed and suffer from anxiety.

'We just want to move positively forward and live a normal life. We have been through a stressful and troublesome episode in our lives.'

Victim: Robert Martin said he gets panicky and stressed and suffers from anxiety following the attack

The court heard how Arif and Mr Martin had been neighbours for seven years, and there had previously been problems over dogs and damage to a fence, with complaints lodged with police on both sides.

Madhu Rai, prosecuting, said the victim had gone into his garden on October 27 last year to inspect a temporary fence panel he had erected between the two addresses.

She said: 'He saw that it had been damaged and had suspicions that the neighbour’s dog had caused the damage.'

Mr Martin called Arif out of his home and the two then argued about the damage.

The row culminated in Arif, who had been shouting and swearing, attacking his neighbour with a stick, causing a wound to his head, which had to be treated in hospital.

Sunit Sandhu, defending, said 'It was a loss of control on the day and out of character.'

He said that Arif, who had a large family, intended to leave the address and regarded what he did as an 'act of stupidity'.

Arif was also ordered to do 150 hours’ unpaid work and pay £150 compensation.

Judge Paul Cullum said he accepted he had not intended to cause the degree of harm that he did and that his conviction meant he would lose his job. 

He said: 'Overall, this was an unpleasant incident when you lost your temper. You delivered one blow with a weapon.'