A driver who headbutted a cyclist who remonstrated with him after the motorist cut him up has escaped jail.

Ashley Rogers, aged 29 and from Stroud, was last month found guilty of assault at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court following the incident on 1 October last year, reports Gloucestershire Live.

At his trial, the court heard that he git out of his car and told Richard Child, also 29, that he had “picked the wrong f*ck*ng bloke” after the cyclist shouted “oi” at him when Rogers cut him up.

Jessica Dobson, prosecuting, said that a female passenger in the car told Rogers to “leave it” but he pushed Mr Child into a hedge then headbutted him.

 She said that Mr Child, who reported what had happened to police the following day and later identified Rogers in an identity parade, “was left standing by the hedge in a daze and in a state of shock.”

The cyclist sustained a chipped tooth and reddened cheek due to the incident, and was now more nervous about riding on the road.

Rogers, who lives with his parents, was driving a car registered to them but was uninsured.

A probation officer told the court that Rogers, sentenced in March last years to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months for harassing his ex-partner, “totally denied” assaulting Mr Child.

He added his mother has terminal cancer and that Rogers, who is several thousand pounds in debt, suffers from depression and attention deficit syndrome and who recently attempted to take an overdose, abuses alcohol and cocaine.

David Brown, in mitigation, told district judge Joti Bopa Rai: “It’s a plea for him and his family. I can confirm that his mother has terminal lung cancer.

“It’s a matter of weeks, if not a month, unfortunately,” he added, explaining that his client had the opportunity to start a new job in the coming week.

The judge handed Rogers an 18-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, added six penalty points to his driving licence and ordered him to pay Mr Child £200 in compensation and to pay a £115 victim surcharge and costs of £300.