A building site argument descended into blows, a court heard.

Serghei Vaulea claimed to have been struck to the ribs, shoulder and his hard hat by spirit level-wielding James Denys following a dispute over the quality of work at the building site off Centenary Way, Witney, on February 25 last year.

The defendant, 32-year-old Denys, from East Wichel, Swindon, denied the allegation – claiming instead that the victim was the aggressor and there had been no weapon involved in the altercation.

But the district judge, who subsequently heard he had a 2007 conviction for wounding with intent, found him guilty of causing actual bodily harm.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Denys claimed Mr Vaulea – who was running his own ‘gang’ on the site – turned on him when he asked the taller man to ‘stop talking to people like that’ after being sworn at and told to ‘raise those ****ing lids [drain covers]’.

The defendant claimed his opponent used a racial slur and gripped him by his collar before Denys pushed him backwards, sending him toppling into a pallet of breeze blocks. It was this that had caused a large bruise to his ribs and bruising to his shoulder, it was suggested.

Mr Vaulea scoffed at the suggestion put to him by Denys’ advocate Sally Thomson that he used the racial slur. “It’s funny because it’s a made-up story,” he said.

He also denied allegations that he had been stressed because of the need to finish the preparatory works ahead of tarmac being laid the following day. He said he had tried to wrestle the spirit level he claimed was used to hit him from Denys’ colleague but was unable to get the item. Mr Vaulea conceded the attempt to secure the alleged weapon was not included in his statement to the police.

Putting her client’s case to the victim, Ms Thomson said: “You lost your temper, grabbed him round the throat, he pushed you away and you fell against a pallet of blocks.”

“No,” he replied.

At one point during his cross-examination, he was warned by the district judge to treat the defence advocate with more respect. That prompted Ms Thomson’s closing submission to the judge: “We are in a court of law with you presiding. We are not on a building site with someone who’s in charge of us.”

Denys told the court that he had arrived at the site on the Monday as part of a three-man team, but their digger driver quit on the first day. Anxious not to lose the job, they offered to help out on the site and were allocated to Mr Vaulea’s team.

He claimed Mr Vaulea was stressed at having to re-do driveways that had been ‘put in incorrectly twice already’, although the victim denied it. He ‘kicked out’ a line of edgings Denys had put in then told him to raise drainage covers.

Denys said he had seen the other man trying to rake concrete using a tool that ‘had about four teeth in it’. “As he’s raking it, nothing’s really happening,” he said. “I could see his head getting pickled.” Mr Vaulea turned down the offer of Denys’ rake then snapped when the tool was offered again ’10 minutes later’, the court was told.

He thought the incident would be dealt with at a site level. When, three months later, he was invited to an interview at Witney police station he answered questions without a solicitor present as he felt he had ‘nothing to hide’.

Denys’ workmate said Mr Vaulea had ‘lunged’ towards his colleague, but made no mention of the grappling alleged by the defendant.

District Judge Kamlesh Rana dismissed an allegation of possession of an offensive weapon – the spirit level – in a public place, as the building site was not open to the public.

But she found Denys guilty of causing actual bodily harm. She described the defendant’s account as ‘implausible and unreliable’. “I find it difficult to accept a man of your stature was able to push a man of Mr Vaulea’s stature with such force.”

He was bailed to return to court for sentence on September 13.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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