A FORMER Oldham man has been ordered to pay compensation after he punched a cyclist he got into a dispute with.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard Ciprian Vlad left Christopher Davis needing stitches and four weeks of dental treatment after he struck him after being called out for his speed in the Prestwich area of Bury.

The 31-year-old had also been accused of kicking him causing him to fall to the ground and again when he was down but denied these allegations, stating that all of the injuries had been caused by a single punch.

A trial of issue took place to establish on what basis he would be sentenced for the aggravated bodily harm.

The court heard from Mr Davis about the incident in April 2019 in the late afternoon.

He said when he turned to go onto Scholes Lane from Smedley Park Lane he saw nothing behind him, then a BMW shot past him at speed.

When he later came across the vehicle at a stationary point he knocked on the window and said he was going too fast.

He said he was preparing to turn onto Heywood Road later on when the BMW stopped in front of him and the driver, Vlad, got out and kicked the frame of his bike causing him to fall to the ground.

He then told the court: “I stood up, that is the end of my recollection until I came around.”

The court also heard from a nurse who was driving in the opposite direction who said she saw a bike on the ground with the wheel detached and saw a man move his leg backwards and throwing a punch but could not see where these landed but said “it had an impact.”

Prosecutors had hoped to lead their evidence with testimony from a man who claimed he saw punches and kicks, but he has subsequently died.

Judge John Edwards declined this and ruled in Vlad’s favour, and said: “I am going to have to deal with him on the basis that this was a very hard punch.”

Representing Vlad, previously of Cranbrook Street in Oldham and now of Glendevon Place in Whitefield, defence counsel Gerard Doran said: “He stands before you as a man of good character.”

He added that in the two years since the incident there had been no further offending by Vlad.

Imposing a sentence, the judge said: “This was a deeply unpleasant incident, and I sentence you on the basis that you that you levelled what must have been to use the vernacular a haymaker, a very hard punch.”

He added that he was “sceptical” of Vlad’s account and said Davis had behaved “with moderation” during the incident.

He suspended a jail sentence of six months for a year, ordered him to attend 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £750 in compensation.