A driver who avoided jail “by the narrowest of margins” after fracturing a cyclist’s skull and causing bleeding on the brain in a shocking road rage attack has claimed that the rider “was blocking my way, so I had to move him”.

Joseph Hedley, 39, was driving through Cowgate, Edinburgh on the evening of Friday 20th September 2024 when an altercation occurred with 34-year-old cyclist Ian Brown. Footage shared on social media shows Brown arguing with a woman from the car in the middle of the road, with Hedley’s car appearing to have exited from the T-junction behind.

Hedley then gets out of the car from the driver’s seat and grabs Brown round the neck before throwing him to the ground. The pair then return to their car, which has an learner driver sticker in the front windscreen, before driving off, leaving Brown lying in the ground.


Brown lost consciousness in the aftermath of the incident and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull and an acute bleed on the brain. The BBC also reports that the medics who treated him deemed his injuries to be “very much to the potential of danger to Mr Brown’s life”.

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After learning that the police had put out an appeal for information, Hedley turned himself into police two days later and was charged with assault. Earlier this month he pleaded guilty to assaulting the victim to his severe injury, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this month.

But at a sentencing hearing yesterday, Hedley avoided a jail sentence “by the narrowest of margins” according to the Sheriff Fergus Thomson. He was instead given an electronic tag, and a home curfew requiring him to remain at his address between 7pm and 7am for the next 12 months. Hedley was also handed a two-year supervision order which assigns him a social worker.

Defending, Calum Turner told the court Hedley had “not intended” to seriously injure Brown and had not driven since the incident. He claimed the Brown had shouted at Hedley’s vehicle, shone his bike light into the car and that a passenger in the car had suffered a “seizure”, in the build up to Hedley leaving the vehicle to confront and assault Brown.

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Faith Currie, Procurator Fiscal (public prosecutor) for Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders said: “This was a violent, sustained and unprovoked assault on an innocent member of the public who suffered serious injuries. The actions of Joseph Hedley were horrific and shocking and could easily have had more devastating consequences.

“But he has now been brought fully to account for his crimes. As prosecutors, we wholly condemn road rage incidents of this nature which put the public at unnecessary risk from violent offenders like Joseph Hedley. We will always prosecute such matters where there is a sufficiency of evidence to do so.”

As he left the court following the verdict, Hedley stopped briefly to answer reporters’ questions. He told STV News he wanted to tell Brown “I’m sorry for what I did. He was blocking my way, so I had to move him.”


Disputing the reporter’s characterisation that Hedley “left him for dead”, he insisted Brown “was kicking off”, and that Brown’s broken skull “doesn’t matter”. He added he felt lucky to have avoided a prison sentence.