Dad hunts out boy who slashed son's tyres and gives him a pasting

A dad attacked a teenage boy - in revenge for the youngster slashing his son's bike tyres. Gregg Price, of Amison Street, Longton, admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how the 38-year-old - who has previous convictions for violence - became enraged when his son came home upset and embarked on a spontaneous mission to hunt out the teenage boy before attacking him in April 2025.

Syed Ahmed, prosecuting, said: "The defendant was in a very foul mood and he said later that his son had reported to him about his bike tyre being stabbed.

"The defendant had been driven around by his partner and he got out of the car, went straight for [the victim] and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground before punching him in the face. The defendant dragged him to the back of the car and pushed him."

Nearby workers heard the commotion and separated the pair. The defendant approached his victim and shouted: "If you tell the police or report this I am coming back for you."

The boy had blood pouring from his nose and a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Price was arrested. He told police he did not know the boy's age at the time.

Price has previous convictions for battery, assault, and affray. He has been diagnosed with ADHD.

Matthew Ness, mitigating, said: "Nothing I say on behalf of him should be taken as an attempt to justify the action he took - it was utterly unacceptable and unjustifiable. He has expressed remorse and he accepts that he had lost emotional control and he had acted unlawfully. He spoke in his interview about how he felt horrendous and ashamed of his behaviour and how he felt more sorry about the victim than his own son."

Price has been handed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100-hours unpaid work. He must also pay 350 compensation.

Judge Graeme Smith said: "The victim had slashed the tyres on your son's bike. Understandably your son was upset and you were upset, any father would in these circumstances. However, not every parent would stalk out the person who did it and carry out a violent assault.

"You threw him to the ground and punched him on the ground. Fortunately, he did not suffer great physical harm, although the brief statement from his mother does confirm it had an impact on his mental state.

"You do have a number of convictions in the past for violence, mostly low-level violence and mostly a long time ago. It's clear from everything I have read about you that you do have long-standing issues with your mental health. You have now had a proper diagnosis of ADHD and there are clearly issues. That is no excuse for what happened but it is something I will take into account."

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