General Chat

A Sunderland pensioner has been found guilty of assault after whacking another supermarket shopper in a row about carrots.

Raymond Newton, 71, lost his temper when Pamela Mann tried to reach across him in a branch of Morrisons.

"I said 'excuse me, could I just get in to get some carrots please?' and the man said 'no you can't, I'm getting carrots'," she told Sunderland Magistrates' Court.

"He said 'you are not getting in front of me, no-one is getting in front of me'. It was very odd. His behaviour was bizarre."

But when Ms Mann reached round him anyway to help herself to carrots, she said, he pushed her in the chest and then hit her on both sides of her head.

"I was just stunned. I couldn't believe this had happened to me in the supermarket over carrots. My right ear was ringing and I staggered backwards," she said.

Newton admitted pushing Ms Mann - but claimed it was in self-defence.

"I thought she may have some kind of missile because I realise ladies carry a lot of merchandise in their bags. Something which could hurt me further. I was very, very worried for my own personal safety," he said.

He's been ordered to pay Ms Mann £150 in compensation, plus a £20 surcharge and £600 court costs.

As Ms Mann tells the Sunderland Echo, "It is surreal that all this happened because of carrots." Surreal - but less unusual than you might think.


I really do wonder what he thinks women lug around in their bags apart from the usual half cwt of useful bits and pieces :-D

yep - I read that - what a ghastly man - imagine being married to him, or related even!! living next door would be too much :-D

We are safe, he's in England ;-)

thank gawd for that!!!

:-P :-P :-P :-P :-P

Ooooh you two. :-D

I live not a million miles from there but have not had the pleasure of bumping into him ;-)

OMG please do NOT bump into him :-0 who knows what retribution he may seek and with what handy weapon?

If you were by the frozen turkeys it could be very, very nasty :-(


:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

:-D :-D :-D :-D

You're right SuperC, I just might grab a turkey and whack him with it.

He sounds as though someone ought to have done that ages ago. :-D

I guess that the "lady" ...........ooops Ms........wasn't around during wartime, and hadn't learned the gentle art of forming a queue



ps

after all these years of womens' rights and fight for equality, they don't like it when being treated like a man.......

I would think Ms Mann upon receiving her compensation will be having her carrots delivered.

Read all about it Bob. Apparently, he was strange before they both got to the carrot counter. There are CCTVs around and the judge would have had all the evidence because rarely are those stores empty of people.

I thought that lady displayed an enormous amount of self-control. He ought to count himself lucky he didn't do it to someone who would automatically retaliate immediately. Or a man even (but then he may never do that).

Carrots at dawn takes on a whole new meaning.

I can only judge on the evidence presented.........

Errr! What's up doc!
Ooo dat wabbit! :-D

I read it and she said she thought he had been following her.

It was probably one of those niggly little situations that get out of hand. Was she, maybe, a little paranoid too?

He pushed her in self defence? defence of what? her reaching around or across him?

He needs anger management treatment.

Don't know. I wasn't there.

There is usually somebody I want to inflict harm upon when I am shopping but I haven't ever done so.

Oh me too, when someone is walking towards me, they stop dead and expect me to walk around them to pass. Not exactly easy using crutches so I usually stand my ground and just look at them ;-)

I have been sorely tempted to thwack them around the legs but I might knock the rhinestones off my crutches :-(

You see!

He could well have been protecting his own Rhinestones!

Fancy crutches, SuperC. Watch out in case carrot man takes a shine to them.