Binman Punched Naked Charity Cyclist After Mistaking Him For A Pervert

A binman who mistook a naked charity cyclist for a pervert and punched him off his bike has walked free from court this week.

Lee Turnage, 46, attacked the cyclist as he was riding through Colchester, Essex, as part of the annual World Naked Bike Ride event in August.

Unfortunately, Turnage was also found with a knife and attacked two police officers who tried to arrest him, with one of the officers needing his ear glued back on following the incident.

Turnage, who works part-time as a binman for Colchester Council, was given a suspended sentence because of his previous good character and responsibilities caring for his grandmother. He had no previous convictions aside from traffic offences he committed in France in the 90s.

Steven Dyble, mitigating, described what was going through Lee’s head when he saw the naked cyclists riding down the street:

‘He encountered a number of middle-aged men cycling in the nude.

‘That is not to the defendant’s taste, but he reacted very badly to what he thought of, to use the vernacular, as perverts cycling naked in what was a residential area.’

Turnage, who was himself riding an uninsured motorbike, turned around and rode back up the hill in order to punch the cyclist in the head.

Prosecutor Charles Judge said: ‘Fortunately, although suffering cuts to his legs, grazing to his hands, arm, and hand, bearing in mind the force at which he was struck, he did not strike his head which would have caused more serious injuries.’

Another cyclist sent footage of the assault to police and they soon tracked Lee down at The Leather Bottle pub, where he fought them too.

In the end, Lee Turnage admitted two charges of actual bodily harm, one charge of dangerous driving, driving without insurance, criminal damage, and assaulting a police officer. He was sentenced to a total of 14 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He’s also had his license revoked and been ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation days, 75 hours of unpaid work and pay £2,000 in compensation to the cyclist.

Not bad going, all things considered. It is quite surprising though that naked cycling is permitted in public, charity event or no charity event. Seems like something that could offend/freak out a lot of people, even the ones who won’t necessarily punch you in the head over it. I mean, of all the middle-aged men participating in the annual World Naked Bike Ride, there’s bound to be at least some perverts in there, right?

For the Just Eat rider caught cycling down the M4 motorway during rush hour, click HERE. Whoops.