British actor Stephen Tompkinson has told a court that punching a man would have been “career suicide”, while admitting there was “a bit of angriness” when he found two drunks outside his home.

The 57-year-old DCI Banks star is accused of punching a man to the ground who was drunkenly making “strange noises” outside his home in the early hours of 30 May 2021.

He denies inflicting grievous bodily harm.

On Tuesday, Tompkinson told Newcastle Crown Court he did not punch Karl Poole and was “not responsible” for the double skull fracture he sustained when his head hit the pavement.

The court has heard Tompkinson came out of his house at around 5.30am, wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown, to challenge Mr Poole and his friend Andrew Hall, who were both “heavily intoxicated”.

Tompkinson said when he spotted the men it was a “horrible sight” and he had been worried about glass breaking in an area where his partner’s child plays.

Giving evidence in his defence, the Ballykissangel star said he put his hand out to stop Mr Poole coming towards him and made contact with his face but that it “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.

Asked by his barrister Nicholas Lumley if he had anything to gain by assaulting Mr Poole, 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.

“It would be career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone.”

Tompkinson said he had had acting work “taken away” since being charged with grievous bodily harm, and that while the legal proceedings are hanging over him, “any association with me is put on hold”.

He told the court: “I’m not trying to compare my situation with the injury Karl suffered – they don’t compare.”

On the opening day of the trial, jurors were told Mr Poole suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the incident.

Actor ‘guided’ man to ground in ‘frightening’ situation

Tompkinson said at the time of the alleged assault he was living in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, with his partner and her seven-year-old son.

Jurors heard he had woken up early that morning, heard “strange noises” and saw two “heavily intoxicated” men drinking at the bottom of his driveway.

Tompkinson said he watched the pair repeatedly fall while drinking from a bottle of Jagermeister, adding: “It seemed to me they were the very definition of drunk and disorderly”.

He told the court he called 999 and was waiting to be connected to the police when he said to the men: “Come on lads, look at the state of you, look at the time, there’s people asleep in the house, you can’t be doing this.”

Asked if he was angry, Tompkinson said: “I think there was a bit of angriness in there, it was a horrible sight and I certainly didn’t want the rest of the household to be greeted by them when they woke up.”

Tompkinson said he told the men he had called the police and the situation became “frightening”, adding that the men got to their feet and started to move towards him.

Read more:
Actor ’caused traumatic brain injuries’, court told
Neighbour ‘saw him punch very drunk man outside his home’

He told the court he put his hands on Mr Hall and “guided” him to the ground, then saw Mr Poole coming towards him.

“I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further onto my property.”

Tompkinson said 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”.

Asked if it would have been possible for him to have made a fist, he said: “Not without breaking my fingers or risking some solid metal going into Karl’s face.”

The trial continues.

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