Daniel Corneille, who has 55 previous convictions and was once jailed for five-and-a-half years for stabbing a man, was jailed for two years for his attack on Gareth Lawrence
An angry motorist who fractured a traffic warden’s shoulder after he received a parking ticket has been jailed for two years.
Daniel Corneille, who has 55 previous convictions and was once jailed for five-and-a-half years for stabbing a man, told the court he had been having an ‘exceptionally bad day’ when he attacked Gareth Lawrence.
The 47-year-old was angry after being given a ticket for parking his Ford Focus on double yellow lines in Sheerness High Street, Kent, on January 6.
Corneille was said to be blocking a tactile paving designed to assist the blind with his car when he received a ticket.
Upon leaving a nearby pub, Corneille, who runs a roofing business, shouted ‘l’ll smack your f***ing head in, alright fat boy, alright fat boy’ at Mr Lawrence.
He then shoved the traffic warden in the back with two hands using his ‘full force’, which was captured on both CCTV and by Mr Lawrence’s body-worn camera.
Mr Lawrence had already placed the ticket on Corneille’s car, which was at around 4pm.
But before he had a chance to turn around he felt a hard push on his back and shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.
He was unable to cushion his impact as his hands were by his face, taking a picture of Corneille’s car, prosecutor Dominic Connolly said.
The father-of-two was then shoved a second time into an Indian restaurant window, which injured his shoulder and damaged his glasses.
Corneille then stood over the traffic warden and placed his hands around his head and neck before then pushing him to the ground again.
The 47-year-old, who had been in the pub with his girlfriend, then drove away from the scene. He was arrested a week later.
Following the attack, Mr Lawrence was left in excruciating pain and could not pull himself up from the pavement.
He was unable to drive or work for six weeks and had to rely on his wife to perform basic tasks for him, including washing and dressing him, as well as cutting up his food.
Maidstone Crown Court in Kent heard Corneille admitted attacking Mr Lawrence and cried when he was shown footage of the violence.
Daniel Corneille pushed Gareth Lawrence (left) onto the floor using his ‘full force’ after he received a parking fine, a court heard
Corneille, from Sheerness, pleaded guilty to inflicting greivous bodily harm. He wrote what was described as an ‘exceptionally impressive and moving’ letter to his victim.
Despite this, Judge Martin Joy said Corneille was a ‘man on a short fuse’ and that the public needed to be protected.
Judge Joy said: ‘This was a gratuitous, unprovoked attack on a traffic warden. You attacked him from behind, it was a sustained attack, extremely forceful and undoubtedly aggressive.
‘He was totally defenceless and when he was down you attacked him again and he was seriously injured.
‘The letter does you credit and it is a genuine expression of remorse. But you are a man on a short fuse, that is plain.
‘The offence is so serious that a non-custodial sentence cannot be justified.
‘Any public officer attacked in the way you did is entitled to look to the protection of the court, and those who do attack people such as traffic wardens can expect serious, significant and severe punishment.’
Speaking about the CCTV footage, Mr Connolly told the court: ‘It showed Mr Lawrence flying some two to three metres, the full width of the pavement, before slamming into the restaurant window.’
The father-of-two was then shoved a second time into an Indian restaurant window, which injured his shoulder and damaged his glasses
Corneille was jailed for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm when he stabbing a man who was having a relationship with his friend’s ex-partner in March 2010.
The court heard that Corneille said ‘this is for Dean’ as he stabbed the victim in the chest, back, arms and legs.
James Ross, defending, told the court that Corneille and his girlfriend, who suffers from bi-polar, because upset after seeing a man in the pub who had caused serious injury to her son in a driving accident before the attack on Mr Lawrence.
But Mr Ross said he never intended to cause such a serious injury, and it resulted from Mr Lawrence falling awkwardly.
‘The defendant was an upstanding man who was having an exceptionally bad day and bit off more than he could chew,’ he added.
In his letter, Corneille apologised to Mr Lawrence and said his behaviour was ‘completely unacceptable’
In his letter, Corneille apologised to Mr Lawrence and said his behaviour was ‘completely unacceptable’.
He wrote: ‘I cannot say anything that will lessen the adverse effect my actions have had on you and your family.
‘I cannot express enough how deeply ashamed I am of my actions. I will take the right steps to learn from this.
‘I cannot express enough how terrible I feel. Sorry just doesn’t do you any justice but I truly am.’