Teignmouth traffic warden attacked in parking ticket mix-up

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A driver repeatedly punched a traffic warden in the head after he found a parking ticket on his car, a court heard.

Joseph Smart, 41, wrongly assumed it was handed out by civil enforcement officer Joanna Morton.

He admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on Miss Morton and assaulting a police officer with intent to resist arrest at Exeter Crown Court.

Smart, of Wellington Street, Teignmouth, was jailed for 52 weeks.

'Petrified and terrified'

Miss Morton said she was "petrified and terrified" and screamed during the assault, which left her with injuries to her forehead and ear.

"I had not even issued him with the parking ticket. I cannot believe he was so violent towards me," she said.

Smart, who had been drinking, then spat in the face of a police officer who arrested him, the court heard.

The attack happened near Teignmouth seafront in March.

Judge Francis Gilbert said Smart had previous convictions for violence, particularly against the police.

Pedestrians and a motorist helped Miss Morton following the assault.

William Parkhill, defending, said Smart had "got the wrong person" after his car was given a ticket.