Man admits egging Middlesbrough MP in 20-year row (From The Northern Echo)

Man admits egging Middlesbrough MP in 20-year row

8:00am Tuesday 14th February 2012 in Middlesbrough News By Graeme Hetherington

A MAN has pleaded guilty to smashing an egg on an MP’s head following a 20-year dispute between the pair.

Terry Dixon attacked Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell at the town’s Remembrance Day service last year.

Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard how the 54-year-old turned to his MP for help in 1991 after a violent assault on his son, who was aged about eight, but did not believe he received the help that he deserved.

The attack on Sir Stuart was captured on a camera phone and posted on internet site YouTube.

Yesterday, Dixon, of Liverton Avenue, Middlesbrough, changed his plea to guilty after previously denying assault.

His solicitor, John Nixon, said: “Many years ago, my client’s son sustained horrific injuries in an assault. My client found his son unconscious in an alley.

“A man was convicted of an assault against him, but he does not think this investigation was carried out thoroughly or properly.

“The history is that my client contacted Stuart Bell seeking assistance and full assistance was not given. My client’s actions were born out of a long sense of injustice.”

District Judge Kristina Harrison requested a presentence report on Dixon and adjourned the hearing until March.

He was bailed on condition he does not contact Sir Stuart.

Speaking outside court, Dixon said: “What do I have to do to get justice for my son? I am still jumping up in my sleep, picking my son up off the floor who’s not there.

“I suffer post-traumatic stress. As soon as I go to bed and it gets dark, that is when the nightmares begin. It has never left me for 20 years.

“I have hit him on the head to draw attention. I know it was wrong and I should not have done it, but what do I have to do to get justice?

“If I have to, I will hang a banner from the Transporter Bridge to draw attention to what happened.”

Sir Stuart declined to comment on the case, saying he already made a statement to the court that he no longer holds open surgeries because Dixon has been harassing him for 20 years.