Company director, 69, convicted of dangerous driving and assault after knocking teenage cyclist off bike with car then punching him in the face

A company director has been convicted of dangerous driving and common assault after he  used his Jeep to knock a 17-year old cyclist off his mountain bike before punching him in the face and smashing his own wing-mirror.

According to The Manchester Evening News, Michael Hanley, 69, was seen ''bumper hugging'' the back tyre of the bicycle after the traffic lights he was waiting at turned green and the teenager pulled in front of him. 

He repeatedly beeped his horn at the young cyclist and flashed his lights.

The teenager tried to swerve off down a dirt track only for the Jeep to clip his shin as it tried to get past. 

As the injured teenager lay on the floor, Hanley got out of his car on the dirt track and said: ''Little sh*t - you’ve done this,'' before saying to another motorist who had pulled over to help: ''did you see what he was doing? He was weaving all over the road.”

Still enraged, he grabbed the teenager's shirt, punched him in the face and then ripped off his own wing mirror before driving away.

The youth - whose six-month-old, £2,500 mountain bike was written off in the incident - was given a lift home by the other motorist and was treated for bruising to his left shin and left cheek plus a swollen right kneecap.

Giving evidence via video link the boy said: ''I was knocked off my bike and I landed on the road but the defendant stopped his vehicle and came towards me shouting and swearing 'Little sh*t you’ve done this, you’ve done that'. I thought 'You’ve just hit me'.

''Mr Hanley went round to his left hand wing mirror and then ripped it off himself. I was on the floor but got up whilst he was shouting at me and was being very aggressive. 

“He grabbed hold of my shirt and tried to drag me towards his car. I got free of him and ran towards my bike but he grabbed my shirt and turned me round and punched me. 

Hanley then got back in his car, did a three-point turn and drove off. 

The victim was upset that his top-end mountain bike had been so badly damaged: ''The bike is irreparable. I went round several bike shops and they said it’s worth practically nothing now. 

“The incident has affected me quite badly and I wasn’t fully myself for weeks following it. I lost my confidence and from now on I’ll feel more cautious on the roads if I get another bike.''

Hanley who attended a police station after the incident denied wrongdoing claiming his car's braking mechanism would have prevented him getting too close to the bike.

''He must have gone into a pothole and came off his bike. I couldn’t use my vehicle as a weapon because the braking mechanism would stop it. 

“All I was doing was trying to stop him and get the police involved because of the damage he’s done to my wing mirror. I’ve driven for 50 years without an accident.”

''I’ve overtaken thousands of cyclists in my time and never seen anything like it. I have no problem with cyclists - there should be more cyclists on the road. I used to be a cyclist. But if we all stayed behind cyclists and never overtook the whole world would come to a standstill.''

The incident occurred at 1.45pm on October 15 last year after father-of-two Hanley was waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights near roadworks in Summerseat, Bury.

At Manchester Magistrates' Court, Hanley, of Greenmount, Bury - a director of an estates management company - was found guilty of dangerous driving and common assault following a trial.

Hanley will be sentenced later this month. He was granted bail.