TV detective 'left drunk man with brain injuries after noise row punch'
TV star Stephen Tompkinson punched a drunken man who was making a noise outside his home causing 'traumatic brain injuries', a court heard today.
The 57-year-old had been disturbed by Karl Poole - who had just been swimming in the North sea and was dressed 'in his underpants' - and his pal Andrew Hall, Newcastle Crown Court was told.
The court heard Mr Poole recall how he had “absolutely zero” memory of that night when giving evidence today and explain how the statement he gave to the police about the alleged incident was based on what he had been told.
Michael Bunch, prosecuting, told the jury that Tompkinson had confronted the pair in the early hours of the morning of May 30, 2021, outside the property in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.
He said: "Two calls were made to the emergency services between half past five and six o’clock on the morning. The first was from this defendant to contact police about two drunken men outside his address.
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"The second, made just a short time later, was made by a neighbour to report that one of those two men was lying unconscious in the street."
He added: "What happened between those two calls is the question that you have to decide.
Stephen Tompkinson denies the charge of GBH (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)"The prosecution says that this defendant, angry at the noise the two men were making, ended up punching one of them, knocking him to the floor so that he banged his head and sustained traumatic brain injuries.
"The defendant claims he did not more than push away the man in self-defence after the two had come towards him." Mr Bunch told the court that Mr Poole had gone to see Mr Hall 'for a catch up', arriving around midnight and the two had stayed up talking and drinking.
"They made a decision to head down to the beach, a mile or so away, to see the sunrise," he said. "By this time, both men were drunk, and they took with them a bottle of Jagermeister...they continued to drink.
"Once there, Mr Poole had a dip in the sea, whilst Mr Hall simply paddled."
Giving evidence today, Mr Poole said he had 'absolutely zero' memory of that night (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)After half an hour, they made their way back home past the address of the actor, which he shared with his girlfriend and her child, the court heard. A neighbour of Tompkinson, Caroline Davidson, awoke as she heard the two men in the street.
She looked out of her upstairs window to see them lying on the path to the left of the defendant’s home address. Mr Poole 'only had on' his underpants, with a towel lying on the path next to him.
Mr Hall had on a T-shirt and shorts. She went back to bed but heard Tompkinson and saw him standing on his driveway speaking to the two men.
Mr Bunch continued: "She could not hear him but Mrs Davidson formed the view, from his hand gestures, that he was telling the two men to get on their way.
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"It appeared that one of the men said something back and Mrs Davidson saw her neighbour draw back his fist, before apparently thinking better of it and lowering his hand.
Stephen Tompkinson is standing trial at Newcastle Crown Court today (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)"The two men, who were obviously heavily drunk, tried to get to their feet, but Mr Poole could hardly stay upright, and Mr Hall had to help him keep his feet.
"The two made their way a short distance before stopping, possibly because the defendant had said something further to them. By now, they were on the footpath at the end of the defendant’s driveway; he remained in the middle of the drive.
"Mrs Davidson watched as the defendant approached the two men, who were wobbling from side to side. The defendant first slapped Mr Poole with his right hand before punching him to the head with his left fist.
"Mr Poole stumbled and then fell backwards striking his head on the roadway, where he lay unconscious. Concerned for what she had seen, Mrs Davidson asked her husband to call the ambulance service."
Tompkinson had also called the police, apparently after first speaking to the two men, reporting he had taken a bottle from them and that he wanted them 'moving on'.
Stephen Tompkinson also called the police, the court heard (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Mr Bunch added: "After Mr Poole had gone to the floor, the defendant used his mobile phone to record two separate clips of the two men. He did not, however, contact the ambulance service himself."
Police and paramedics attended the scene but at that stage, they did not realise that an assault had taken place, the court heard. Mr Poole, still unconscious, was taken to hospital. He was found to have a fractured skull with resulting significant traumatic brain injuries.
Police returned to the defendant’s home and arrested him after they had heard the account given by Mrs Davidson, the jury heard.
Tompkinson told officers that he had gone out to ask the two men to move on, so they didn’t disturb his partner and her child, who were asleep in the house.
The men had appeared to become aggressive and had moved towards him, so he "pushed Mr Hall away and had then raised his hand to keep Mr Poole away".
Mr Bunch added: "He had turned to face Mr Hall...when he looked back, Mr Poole had gone to the floor. He denied that he had aggressively struck Mr Poole at any point.
"This claim of aggressive behaviour by the two men is simply not supported by any of the evidence in the case. Mrs Davidson, who has no axe to grind, does not describe any such behaviour on the part of the pair.
Tompkinson is accused of 'punching' a man and leaving him with 'traumatic brain injuries' (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)"The truth is that the defendant’s story is nothing more than a weak attempt by him to deflect blame onto others for what were his wholly unjustified aggressive actions. The evidence here is clear as to his guilt for the offence which he faces."
Giving evidence today, Mr Poole said he had “absolutely zero” memory of that night, and that details in the statement he gave to police describing the incident was “from what I’ve been told”.
Nicholas Lumley KC, defending Tompkinson, told him: “I’m going to suggest you fell as a result of a simple push and since that event you have exaggerated what happened that day.”
Mr Poole confirmed he had made a compensation claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Recorder of Newcastle, Judge Paul Sloan told the jurors before the case opened that Tompkinson was a 'well-known actor'.
"You will have seen him or know of him," he added. "That in itself would not debar you from serving on the jury. However, if you have any association with him either directly, or indirectly, then please alert me to that situation, and the same with the defence witnesses."
The jury heard defence witnesses in the case included actors Hayley Mills and Nichola McAuliffe, who was in the public gallery.
Tompkinson, of Tynemouth, North Tyneside, denies unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. The trial continues.
Tompkinson has appeared in a string of telly hits including the lead role in ITV cop series DCI Banks, which ran for five seasons from 2010 to 2016.
He first hit stardom as a rogue reporter in classic comedy Drop The Dead Donkey in the 1990s. He won the 1994 British Comedy Award for best TV actor for the show.
He became a household name as Father Peter Clifford in Ballykissangel in 1996 — the year he helped turn Brassed Off into a cinema smash.
He has appeared in a host of other popular shows including Wild at Heart, The Manageress, Minder, Boon, New Tricks, Grafters and Ted and Alice.
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