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Man fined for assaulting cyclist was "trying to save his life"

Cambridge man shoved cyclist off road

A man has been fined for assaulting a cyclist in Cambridge after claiming he was actually trying to save his life.

According to Cambridge News, Kevin Hands admitted pushing Reece Cockram on Sunday, October 6, in Church End, Over.

Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Cockram and his girlfriend were walking along the side of the road after a puncture when they were abused by people in a passing car.

The car stopped and Hands, the passenger, got out.

Paul Brown, prosecuting said: “He shouted ‘what do you think you are doing? Get on the path’. He pushed the victim in the chest and slapped him in the face, leaving reddening.”

Hands claimed he was trying to get Mr Cockram off the road and on to the path. His lawyer, Sandeep Kainth said that Hands had been in a serious crash on the M11 and was therefore aware of the dangers.

Hands denied slapping Cockram. He was ordered to pay £235 in fines, compensation and costs.


Church End, Over (image Google Maps)

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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29 comments

Avatar
Luca Patrono | 4 years ago
2 likes

This article is over 5 years old  3

(Also, stay in school, kids.)

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The _Kaner | 10 years ago
0 likes

Fishing...drinking and assault...well balanced family life then...can't judge a book by it's cover, but seems to like Mark 'Chopper' Read..maybe a role model....  24

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Stomp120 replied to The _Kaner | 4 years ago
0 likes

The _Kaner wrote:

Fishing...drinking and assault...well bafrownlanced family life then...can't judge a book by it's cover, but seems to like Mark 'Chopper' Read..maybe a role model....  24

well he's got his own home and is happy if you ask me jealous people I also think you might find that the ninja he slapped was walking in the road and got gobby so the boy got what he  deserved just because his dad is a hard man he thinks he can run his mouth off well he can't point proven neither can his dad indecision

 

 

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Stomp120 replied to The _Kaner | 4 years ago
0 likes

The _Kaner wrote:

Fishing...drinking and assault...well balanced family life then...can't judge a book by it's cover, but seems to like Mark 'Chopper' Read..maybe a role model....  24

.  He told the twat cocker ram his dad how it was to if he's that much of a nutter they wana keep there eyes in the back of their heads 

 

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Matt eaton | 10 years ago
0 likes

I can't get past the fact that the guy was assulted by a meathead called 'Hands'. It makes him sound like some gangsters hardman.

'Do him hands' (geezerish accent required).

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burtthebike | 10 years ago
0 likes

So a serial criminal assaults a completely blameless person and gets away with a fine? Surely something wrong with our justice system?

Lock him up and throw the key to the jews. They can give it back when he begs sufficiently well.

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duc888 | 10 years ago
1 like

ahh, yes I see, it would if you were pissed out of your head which seems to be a permanent state for Kevin Hands, the Ducting Tester. (see the link to the DUI)
Now theres an intelligent job.

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duc888 | 10 years ago
1 like

Cos the picture of Church End, Over has a distinct resemblance to the M11 doesnt it, I can see how it triggered memories

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dp24 | 10 years ago
1 like
Quote:

His lawyer, Sandeep Kainth said that Hands had been in a serious crash on the M11 and was therefore aware of the dangers.

Anyone remember this report of an accident involving a cyclist on the M11? No, me neither.

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AlexM | 10 years ago
1 like

But was the cyclist wearing a helmet?

WE MUST BE TOLD.

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OldRidgeback | 10 years ago
0 likes

If that really is him, then he's a really fishy character. The EDL aren't really big on intelligence.

He's also got sticky out ears. People from that area, well let's just they that they have interesting genetic histories.

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jarredscycling | 10 years ago
0 likes

People's stupidity is stunning but their complete lack of understanding how stupid they are is scary.

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wheelsucker | 10 years ago
0 likes

except it turns out it is actually legal to ride on the pavement, where you feel it safer to do so...off to google the RTA that says so

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benb replied to wheelsucker | 10 years ago
0 likes
wheelsucker wrote:

except it turns out it is actually legal to ride on the pavement, where you feel it safer to do so...off to google the RTA that says so

Not legal per se, but there was Home Office guidance to not prosecute when pavement cycling was done considerately and out of self-preservation:

Paul Boateng (Home Office minister at the time) wrote:

The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required.

From http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN00623.pdf

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rich22222 | 10 years ago
0 likes

Edited: "His lawyer, Sandeep Kainth said that Hands had been" .....twice banned for DUI..... "and was therefore aware of the dangers."

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dbb | 10 years ago
0 likes

the lawyer should be fined for wasting the courts time!  44

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mad_scot_rider | 10 years ago
0 likes

Now I've heard it all

As a defence against assault goes - attempting to force a cyclist to break the (bloody stupid) law against pavement cycling takes the biscuit

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fukawitribe replied to mad_scot_rider | 10 years ago
0 likes
mad_scot_rider wrote:

Now I've heard it all

As a defence against assault goes - attempting to force a cyclist to break the (bloody stupid) law against pavement cycling takes the biscuit

According to the article, and the news item linked from it, the cyclist was walking on the pavement after a puncture - so presumably pushing the bike, which itself was perhaps on the road. Whatever else the driver may have been guilty of, or not, it does not appear to be encouraging him to ride on the pavement but rather to move the bike onto it. So... "forcing him to break the ... law" - probably not.

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Metjas replied to fukawitribe | 10 years ago
0 likes
fukawitribe wrote:

According to the article, and the news item linked from it, the cyclist was walking on the pavement after a puncture - so presumably pushing the bike, which itself was perhaps on the road. Whatever else the driver may have been guilty of, or not, it does not appear to be encouraging him to ride on the pavement but rather to move the bike onto it. So... "forcing him to break the ... law" - probably not.

and where exactly in the article did it say he was on the pavement? I can't find it.

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William Black replied to Metjas | 10 years ago
0 likes
Metjas wrote:

and where exactly in the article did it say he was on the pavement? I can't find it.

Why is that even relevant when some Neanderthal EDL member assaults someone for pushing a bike up the road?

I'm 'not' on Facebook but should anyone else want to send some words, knock yourself out  3 :

https://www.facebook.com/kevin.hands.104

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fukawitribe replied to Metjas | 10 years ago
0 likes
Metjas wrote:

and where exactly in the article did it say he was on the pavement? I can't find it.

That is really odd - i'd have put a sizeable amount of money that the road.cc article said it, and even sure i'd double checked but that is clearly not the case now. Mea culpa, must be getting old  1

That said, it doesn't change the the impression that the driver wasn't encouraging the riders to cycle on the path - nor that he's is still coming across as a complete twat.

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Metjas replied to fukawitribe | 10 years ago
0 likes

[quote=fukawitribe
That said, it doesn't change the the impression that the driver wasn't encouraging the riders to cycle on the path - nor that he's is still coming across as a complete twat.[/quote]

trust me, he's coming across as a lot worse than that, and that's before we were made aware of his previous history.

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fukawitribe replied to Metjas | 10 years ago
0 likes
Metjas wrote:

[quote=fukawitribe
That said, it doesn't change the the impression that the driver wasn't encouraging the riders to cycle on the path - nor that he's is still coming across as a complete twat.

trust me, he's coming across as a lot worse than that, and that's before we were made aware of his previous history.[/quote]

Yeah - I agree... my point was that potentially making stuff up (forcing the cyclist to break the law) doesn't help anything and often just diverts attention from the real issues.

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mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
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YorkshireMike replied to mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
mrmo wrote:

just for completeness of course

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Vodka-shot-put-me-over-limit-says-d...

What the - is that the same guy?! Really should not be let anywhere near a steering wheel.

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abbeybob replied to YorkshireMike | 10 years ago
0 likes

Probably is Swavesey and Over are two villages North West of Cambridge that are probably only a mile or two apart

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lakeland bimbler replied to mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
mrmo wrote:

just for completeness of course

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Vodka-shot-put-me-over-limit-says-d...

Hang on banned for 39 months in Sept 2011.... if it is the same guy shouldn't he still be off the road  39

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rich22222 replied to lakeland bimbler | 10 years ago
0 likes

He was the passenger in this instance

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Gkam84 replied to lakeland bimbler | 10 years ago
0 likes
lakeland bimbler wrote:

Hang on banned for 39 months in Sept 2011.... if it is the same guy shouldn't he still be off the road  39

The car stopped and Hands, the passenger, got out

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