CRIME fighter David Farrow was hit over the head with a fluorescent light tube when he tried to catch a man he saw pulling a wing mirror off a car, a court heard yester- day.

Simon Ostler, prosecuting, told Harrogate magistrates that Mr Farrow had been in bed at his home near the centre of Harrogate, in the early hours of July 30, when he heard sounds that suggested a car was being vandalised.

When he saw a man damaging a Y-registered Mini Cooper he went outside to detain him until police arrived.

But as Mr Farrow took hold of the man, he was struck with a fluorescent light tube. It cut his head and he also needed six stitches to his arm.

The man responsible for the attack, Carl Lismore, 26, pleaded guilty to assault. A charge of affray was dropped.

Presiding magistrate John Carter called for probation reports to be prepared on Lismore, of Strawberry Dale Court, Harrogate, who already had a substantial criminal record. The case was adjourned until November 4.