A resident of King Charles’ model town punched his elderly neighbour in the face after she complained about his car exhaust fumes blowing into her garden, a court heard.
Sekhar Sootarsing, 69, became angry and ‘clobbered’ 83-year-old Ingrid Wright-Holmes after she and her husband Christopher went to speak to him about the noisy engine of his Ford Mustang, jurors were told.
Mr and Mrs Wright-Holmes said they had been enjoying an al-fresco glass of wine on a spring evening when the ‘obnoxious stink’ from the exhaust filled their back garden, so they went round to their neighbour’s home in Poundbury, Dorset, and asked him to switch the engine off, the court heard.
Sootarsing, 69, allegedly hit Mrs Wright-Holmes who was ‘knocked for six’ and left with a bloody lip.
Mr Wright-Holmes, a retired auctioneer, shouted at his neighbour ‘look what you’ve done to my wife?, Bournemouth Crown Court was told.
He said he then jabbed Sootarsing in the stomach with his ‘trusted’ walking stick in a ‘pre-emptive strike’.
The fracas ended when two other neighbours rushed over to split the men up.
Mrs Wright-Holmes was allegedly left with a fat lip, a damaged tooth and bruises to her body from where she fell over.
Sootarsing is on trial accused of causing actual bodily harm to Mrs Wright-Holmes, which he denies.
He claims he acted in self-defence after she allegedly punched him in the face first.
His defence barrister also suggested Mrs Wright-Holmes was drunk at the time, an allegation she flatly denied in court.
The incident happened at about 7pm on May 11, 2024.
Mr Wright-Holmes, also 83, told the court on Monday: ‘Our garden backs on to the courtyard where the Ford Mustang was parked.
‘We were in the garden enjoying a glass of wine when this obnoxious stink came over.
‘We went around to his flats as we wanted the car switched off because it was poisoning our garden air and in the house.
‘I can’t remember if my wife or I asked him to turn the engine off.
‘He said the words ‘F*****g bitch’ and thumped my wife in the mouth with his right fist – he knocked her for six.
He went on: ‘My wife fell down and was probably concussed and bleeding heavily from her mouth over her clothes.
‘I thought he was going to lunge at me next so I said ‘what have you done to my wife’ and took my trusted walking stick and rammed it in his midriff.
‘He ran back into his house screaming ‘he hit me, he hit me’ and I told him I was going to call the police.
‘Poundbury is a very nice area and you don’t expect that kind of behaviour here.’
Mrs Wright-Holmes described the noise and smoke from Sootarsing’s car as ‘horrendous’.
She said: ‘I asked him if he would not mind turning his car engine off and he stood there and pulled a face.
‘He called me a bitch or something like that then he hit me on the head and I fell backwards two steps and landed on the floor, it was so frightening.
‘My lip was split and a lot of blood gushed out, which went on my shorts, and I had a dislodged tooth.’
The court heard that Sootarsing was arrested and told police he did ‘clobber’ Mrs Wright-Holmes but she ‘shouldn’t go around punching people’.
But this was disputed by Mrs Wright-Holmes giving evidence who said she never touched the defendant.
Sarah Brown, defending, said Sootarsing had sustained a bruise to the head which was caused by a punch from Mrs Wright-Holmes who also broke his glasses.
Mrs Wright-Holmes responded: ‘That is ridiculous. He hit me because he didn’t like to be questioned about his car, but I certainly never hit him.’
She also suggested that Mrs Wright-Holmes was under the influence of alcohol, to which she replied: ‘I may have had a glass of wine but certainly not a bottle. I was not drunk.’
Mr Wright-Holmes told the court that Sootarsing ‘knocked his wife for six’ and he feared he was about to attack him next.
Ms Brown suggested to Mr Wright-Holmes that he had struck Sootarsing multiple times with his walking stick as he also had bruising on his arm.
He replied: ‘I jabbed him once and Ingrid did not, and I repeat this on oath, hit him.’
The trial, which is due to last four days, continues.
Poundbury has been built over the past 33 years on Duchy of Cornwall land near Dorchester.
King Charles’ has had a big say on the architecture, with neo-Classical style apartment blocks, mock-Georgian houses and red brick ‘Victorian’ style warehouses. Its centerpiece is Queen Mother Square which commemorates his grandmother.
