A MAN who shouted abuse at a female bin lorry driver in South Petherton when he was blocked from driving past, grabbed her phone from her hand as she tried to film him.

Thomas Joseph Lambert tried to squeeze past the lorry in his car as the victim’s colleagues were emptying bins in West Street and hurled a torrent of foul language at her.

Concerned at his behaviour, she got out her mobile phone to record the incident when Lambert leant over his passenger seat where his young child was sat and grabbed the device from her hand.

He then managed to get his car past the lorry and got out and confronted the terrified victim as she tried to retrieve her phone, throwing it onto the ground and smashing it beyond repair.

When the victim, Tracey Fowler, appeared in court to give evidence during a trial she said that at the time she was “shaking like a leaf inside and was scared stiff” as the defendant towered over her, still shouting abuse.

Lambert, 34, of Church Path, Over Stratton, pleaded not guilty that on July 17 at South Petherton with intent to cause Miss Fowler harassment, alarm or distress he used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. He also denied causing damage to her mobile phone.

He was convicted of both offences following a trial held in his absence when he failed to turn up for the hearing before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.

However the defendant turned up at the court later the same day and had to be taken down to the cells for a period of time to calm down after he became abusive towards the magistrates.

Prosecutor Julyan Stephens said that the incident occurred when Miss Fowler was driving a 2.5 metre wide bin lorry on West Street while two colleagues were at the rear empting bins.

She was stationary in the cab when she suddenly heard some shouting coming from a car that was being driven down the road on the right hand side of the lorry by a row of houses.

“It squeezed up to her cab and the impatient driver, Lambert, was highly abusive towards her while he had a toddler in the vehicle,” he said.

“She decided to show the defendant that she had her mobile phone to warn him that she would record him or call the police and she had her window wound down.

“Lambert’s passenger window was open while he was remonstrating, and when Miss Fowler leant out of her lorry to record what was happening he lunged for the phone and grabbed it.

“Lambert managed to squeeze past the lorry in his car and drove up the road and the victim got out of her cab to get her phone.

“He walked towards her and remonstrated right up in her face, then threw the phone on the ground, smashing the screen and damaging the phone beyond repair.”

Speaking from the witness box, Miss Fowler told the court that the defendant’s actions had been completely unnecessary as she had only been doing her job.

“After he grabbed my phone I gingerly walked towards him, but he got out of his car in an aggressive manner and towered over me and started swearing again,” she said.

“I was shaking like a leaf inside and was scared stiff when I asked for my phone and he then said “There’s your f***ing phone” and threw it on the floor then got into his car and zoomed off.

“I had been doing the job for just under a year and had never experienced anything of this nature before.

“It took me about half an hour afterwards to settle and felt a bit of a failure as I was stood at the side of the road crying.”

The court heard that during his police interview Lambert said that the bin lorry driver could have pulled over and claimed she had subjected him to a lot of verbal abuse.

He said she stuck her mobile phone through his window and her hand caught on the way out and she dropped the phone on his 18 month old child causing a bruise.

He said the phone fell into his car so he drove off and then gave it back to the driver but claimed she had thrown a punch at him and then dropped her phone causing it to break.

The two bin men working with Miss Fowler both gave evidence in court and expressed their frustration at not being able to physically intervene and help her for fear of losing their jobs.

Mr Stephens also said that Lambert appeared at court in Weymouth last year in relation to a previous road rage offence and was currently subject to a community order with 80 hours unpaid work.

Chairman of the magistrates, Christopher Thomas-Peter said they had found Lambert guilty of both offences and sentenced him to a further community order with a 15 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and a further 40 hours unpaid work.

They also ordered him to pay Miss Fowler £600 compensation for her phone and a further £100 for the trauma she went through along with an £85 victim surcharge.