Stephen Tompkinson 'just wants to go home' after jury finds him not guilty of GBH
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
DCI Banks actor Stephen Tompkinson said he “just wants to go home” after being cleared by a jury of assaulting a drunk man who was making noise outside his home.
The 57-year-old, also known for his roles in Wild at Heart and Ballykissangel, let out a sigh of relief as he was found not guilty of grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court following a two year-long ordeal.
The man he was alleged to have attacked, Karl Poole, walked out of court shaking his head.
Mr Tompkinson stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court accused of punching Mr Poole in the head after finding him and a friend drinking at the bottom of his driveway in the early hours of May 30 2021.
Mr Poole fell to the ground and broke his skull when his head hit the pavement, the court was told. Prosecutors claimed Mr Tompkinson "snapped" and "lashed out" at Mr Poole in "disgust" at his behaviour.
Mr Tompkinson, however, said that Mr Poole simply “made contact” with his outstretched hand as he tried to calm him down. He admitted making contact with his face but that it "wasn't enough to knock a sober man off his feet".
'Strange noises'
Jurors heard he had woken up early that morning, heard "strange noises" and saw two "heavily intoxicated" men drinking at the bottom of his driveway, one of whom (Mr Poole) was just wearing underpants. Mr Tompkinson said he watched the pair attempt to stand up and fall several times, while drinking from a bottle of Jagermeister.
Mr Tompkinson said as he went to make a 'stop' motion, his hand connected with the left side of Mr Poole's face and that he went to the floor because of his "unsteadiness".
"I didn't want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further on to my property," Mr Tompkinson said.
Asked by his barrister Nicholas Lumley KC if he had anything to gain by assaulting Mr Poole, Tompkinson said: "Absolutely not. Any member of the public is potentially a member of your audience and you have to treat them with respect at all times.
"After we got 15 million viewers for Ballykissangel, my father, who was alive at the time, said, 'You have been invited into people's living rooms and you must always treat them with respect', and I always try to.
"It would be career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone."
The trial heard the case has had a devastating effect on Mr Tompkinson’s career, with no work being offered while the prospect of a prison sentence for a serious assault hung over him.
As he left court he told reporters: “I just want to go home”. When approached later at his new seafront home in Tynemouth he declined to comment further.
Character witnesses
A parade of character witnesses from the world of television appeared or wrote statements in support of Tompkinson during the trial. Comedian and writer Andy Hamilton, who worked with him on Drop The Dead Donkey, told jurors Tompkinson had "worked pretty much permanently" since he had known him and had "become a big star over the years".
"One of the reasons for that is people know he's good under pressure," he said.
Andy Harries, chief executive of Left Bank Pictures, described Tompkinson in a statement as "a terrific actor" and said he knew "how much he loves his daughter and partner".
Arthur McKenzie, a former Northumbria Police detective turned writer, said in his statement: "It was very quickly abundantly clear to me why he is regarded as one of Britain's finest actors."
His Wild At Heart co-star Hayley Mills said Tompkinson played a vet in the series and worked with "every sort of animal, all of which responded to the calm way he dealt with them".
Speaking after the verdict, Mr Poole said: "It is a shock to me that they reached that verdict and it's very disappointing, I don't think it was the right one. I'm still affected by what happened that night, but I don't want to say anything further."
