A man who attacked a taxi driver was so drunk that he couldn't remember what he had done, a court heard.

Joseph Szmodics, 31, was with another man when the assault took place on September 29 last year.

Magistrates heard Szmodics had been drinking in the Bell pub in Old Heath, Colchester.

He got into the back of a taxi with a colleague and asked to go to Greenstead.

"During the journey, the two passengers began to argue between themselves," said Paul Evans, prosecuting.

"The mood changed when the driver asked specifically where they wanted to go and at this point the driver alleged he was attacked by the male in the back of the car."

The taxi driver was hit in the face, Colchester Magistrates' Court heard yesterday

He stopped the vehicle, got out and hid in a bush before trying to flag down passing motorists.

Meanwhile, the passengers started to drive the car towards a crowd which had gathered in St Andrew's Avenue, but collided with roadworks.

The vehicle was later found abandoned Harwich Road, said Mr Evans. Police believed it had been involved in a collision with another car. Szmodics had been seen staggering along the road.

When police arrived at his house, he claimed he had walked home from the pub, but was arrested. Szmodics later admitted assault.

Mark Francis, mitigating, said: "Mr Szmodics can remember nothing at all about the entire evening other than being in the Bell and waking up the next morning."

Mr Francis said a jail sentence would mean the end of Szmodics' business.

Szmodics, of Cypress Grove, Colchester, was ordered to pay the victim £500 compensation.

He also received an 18-month rehabilitation order and 70 hours community service, and told to pay £55 costs

Published Tuesday, April 15, 2003

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