DCI Banks star relieved after being cleared of attack on a drunk
Stephen Tompkinson says he ‘just wants to go home’ as jury finds him not guilty of grievous bodily harm
STEPHEN TOMPKINSON, the actor, said he “just wants to go home” after being cleared yesterday by a jury of assaulting a drunk man who was making noise outside his home.
The 57-year-old, who starred in Banks, the police drama, let out a sigh of relief as he was found not guilty of grievous bodily harm following a two year-ordeal.
The man he was alleged to have attacked, Karl Poole, walked out of court shaking his head.
Mr Tompkinson stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court accused of punching Mr Poole in the head after finding him and a friend drinking at the bottom of his driveway, in the early hours of May 30 2021.
Mr Poole fell to the ground and broke his skull when his head hit the pavement, the court was told. Prosecutors claimed Mr Tompkinson “snapped” and “lashed out” at Mr Poole in “disgust” at his behaviour.
Mr Tompkinson, however, said that Mr Poole simply “made contact” with his outstretched hand as he tried to calm him down.
He admitted making contact with his face but that it “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.
Jurors heard that he had woken up early that morning, heard “strange noises” and saw two “heavily intoxicated” men drinking at the bottom of his driveway, one of whom [Mr Poole] was just wearing underpants.
Mr Tompkinson said he watched the pair attempt to stand up and fall several times, while drinking from a bottle of the liqueur Jagermeister.
The actor, who has also starred in Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel and Drop The Dead Donkey, said that as he went to make a “stop” motion, his hand connected with the left side of Mr Poole’s face and that he went to the floor because of his “unsteadiness”.
“I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further on to my property,” Mr Tompkinson said.
Asked by Nicholas Lumley KC, his barrister, if he had anything to gain by assaulting Mr Poole, Mr Tompkinson said: “Absolutely not. Any member of the public is potentially a member of your audience and you have to treat them with respect at all times.
“After we got 15 million viewers for Ballykissangel, my father, who was alive at the time, said, ‘You have been invited into people’s living rooms and you must always treat them with respect’, and I always try to. It would be career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone.”
The trial heard that the case has had a devastating effect on Mr Tompkinson’s career, with no work being offered while the prospect of a prison sentence for a serious assault hung over him. As he left court, he told reporters: “I just want to go home.”
When approached later at his seafront home in Tynemouth he declined to comment further.
A parade of character witnesses from the world of television appeared or wrote statements in support of Mr Tompkinson during the trial.
Andy Hamilton, the comedian and writer, who worked with Mr Tompkinson on Drop The Dead Donkey, told jurors the actor had “become a big star over the years”. He said: “One of the reasons for that is people know he’s good under pressure.”
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Poole said: “It’s very disappointing.”