Car park 'bully' attacked couple in front of girls

A car park "bully" who attacked a couple in front of their petrified children has been jailed for two years and five months.

Kurt Kirkham, 36, had driven the wrong way down a one-way lane in a North Shields car park when he attacked a motorist and his family coming towards him in the correct direction, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Kirkham, of Walkerville, fractured the man's sternum when he kicked him on the ground and broke his partner's finger and ripped out her hair, all witnessed by their daughters aged three and nine.

Kirkham, who had a history of violence, initially denied wrongdoing but later admitted two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm.

The motorist was correctly following a one-way system through a car park at about 14:00 BST on 15 March 2025 when he was confronted by Kirkham's Mercedes being driven straight toward him, prosecutor Glenn Gatland said.

Both cars stopped and Kirkham got out, walked up and punched the man in the head through his open window, the court heard.

Kirkham then wrenched open the rear door where one of the girls was sitting, prompting the driver to get out and throw punches at the attacker to defend his family, the court heard.

Blows were exchanged and the driver was pushed to the ground where Kirkham kicked him full force in the chest, breaking his sternum, Gatland said.

The victim's partner got out to help him but Kirkham grabbed her by the hair and hurled her to the ground, the court heard, with the woman losing a chunk of hair and fracturing a finger.

Kirkham then got in his car and drove away, the court heard.

In statements read to the court, the couple said their attacker had been "unhinged" and a "bully", with his actions having a long-lasting psychological impact on the entire family.

They said their young daughters had been "petrified" throughout the ordeal and been left with "lifelong trauma".

The driver said none of it would even have happened if Kirkham had been paying attention when driving and not gone against the one-way system.

The court heard Kirkham had multiple convictions for violence on his criminal record, including wounding someone when he trod on and broke their ankle, while a suspended sentence imposed for attacking an emergency worker had ended just two weeks before the car park attack.

In mitigation, the court heard Kirkham, whose own child was in his car at the time of the attack, had sought counselling since and was exploring a possible ADHD diagnosis.

Judge Stephen Earl said Kirkham, who had had three suspended sentences, had learned nothing from previous chances given by the court and showed a repeated pattern of using "gratuitous" and "unregulated" violence when "blinded by temper".

He said the "car park rage" attack against two parents in front of their children was "frankly one of the worst types of offences of this nature one can encounter", with Kirkham "yet again" causing "significant harm".

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