Actor Stephen Tompkinson denies causing grievous bodily harm to a man he confronted outside his home
By Alison Freeman
BBC News
Actor Stephen Tompkinson has told his trial punching a drunk man outside his home would have been “career suicide”.
The actor also said he would have broken his fingers if he had struck Karl Poole, in Whitley Bay, in May 2021, because he had been holding his phone at the time.
The 57-year-old, of Whitley Bay, denies grievous bodily harm.
He told Newcastle Crown Court Mr Poole and his friend had been the “definition of drunk and disorderly”.
Mr Tompkinson denies the charge, claiming he did not punch Mr Poole, who fell and hit his head on the ground, but pushed him away in self-defence.
He said he could not have punched Mr Poole outside his home in Beech Grove, Whitley Bay, because he was holding his phone, and he would have hurt himself.
Giving evidence as the defence opened its case, the actor said he called the police after seeing Mr Poole and Andrew Hall drunk in the street outside his house at about 05:30 BST.
He described them repeatedly falling and sipping from a bottle of Jägermeister.
Image source, PA Media
Stephen Tompkinson found fame in the TV show Ballykissangel in 1996
He said he took the bottle from them as he was concerned they would drop it and it would smash.
Mr Tompkinson said: “They seemed to be the very definition of drunk and disorderly.
“They were making a lot of noise and they could barely stand. I thought it was in their best interests as well to get them assisted home at least.”
He said when he approached the men and told them he had called the police the atmosphere changed from “jovial to frightening” and that both men approached him.
At that point he said he put his right hand out to stop Mr Poole and his flat palm connected with his face.
Mr Tompkinson said: “I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him, change his mind.
“It wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet.”
The court heard Mr Poole did not have visible injuries on his face.
Mr Tompkinson said instead that he turned his shoulder to him.
He said a neighbour’s earlier evidence that he had raised a fist at one point earlier in the encounter, then thought better of it, was in fact him showing the two men his phone to prove he had called the police.
The actor was asked if he had punched or assaulted Mr Poole, to which he said no.
‘Terrible thing’
When asked if he accepted some responsibility for Mr Poole’s head injury, Mr Tompkinson said yes, he did.
Nicholas Lumley KC asked Mr Tompkinson: “Standing there now, how do you feel about that head injury?”
Mr Tompkinson replied: “That’s the reason we are all here.
“It’s a terrible thing to have happened to anyone.”
Mr Tompkinson told the court he had not worked since he had been charged with GBH and that assaulting a member of the public would be “career suicide”.
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