A MAN who attacked a Wales rugby fan on the way home from a Six Nations game in Cardiff has been sentenced after pleading guilty to common assault and criminal damage.

David Thomas Harper, 29, of Burrium Gate, Usk, also smashed a train window during the incident, Caerphilly Magistrates Court heard.

Harper pleaded guilty to common assault and criminal damage when appearing on Thursday 24th September, and was fined a total of £1,100 and ordered to pay £110 of victim surcharge, a criminal court charge of £150 and £85 costs.

The court was told that Harper was on a train home after being in Cardiff to watch the Wales v Ireland Six Nations match on Saturday 14th March. The victim was part of a group that boarded the service at Newport.

During the course of the journey, Harper became involved in an altercation with the group and was restrained on a number of occasions by his friends.

A short time later at around 9.45pm, as passengers were alighting the service at Abergavenny, Harper headbutted the victim. He was immediately pushed onto the platform by a friend of the victim and subsequently became extremely abusive and threatened to stab the victim. Harper then removed a fence post from the platform and used it to repeatedly hit the train window, causing it to shatter.

Shortly after the incident, CCTV images were released to the media which resulted in Harper contacting investigating officers.

In interview, Harper claimed he had become separated from his fiancée during the train journey and as he left the train at Abergavenny, a group of men had prevented his fiancée from alighting. He hit the train window with the fence post purely to prevent the train from departing with his fiancée still on board, he added. He denied headbutting the victim.

Speaking after sentencing, PC Craig Farrell, of British Transport Police, said: “This was a frightening incident, not only for the victim but for the large number of innocent passengers on board the train, many of which were terrified by Harper’s violent behaviour.

“Fortunately, the victim did not sustain any serious injuries; however, this does not detract from the seriousness of the incident. Harper’s actions not only left the victim and many others in considerable distress, but there was also a serious financial implication for Arriva Trains Wales, with the cost of replacing the broken window around £650.

“Fortunately, incidents such as this are rare, but when they do happen we take them extremely seriously.”