A COUNCIL roads boss has been cleared of severely assaulting a motorist who overtook a queue of traffic and sped through a red traffic light at temporary roadworks.

Brian White was working as the clerk of works at the site when motorist Kameran Iqbal drove through the red signal, narrowly missing two pedestrians as they crossed the road.

Mr Iqbal’s blue Audi was struck with a cone being carried by the City of Edinburgh Council road boss and he came to an abrupt halt before exiting his car along with two friends.

The driver then made his way along the road to confront the council employee on the Capital’s Queensferry Road last May.

A scuffle broke out between the pair, with the driver claiming that Mr White had used racial slurs by calling him “a P*** b******” before also claiming he had been assaulted.

Mr White, of Fowlers Court, Prestonpans, said that it had been the motorist and his friends who were the aggressors and denied using any racist language during the incident.

Self-defence

The altercation saw the pair fall to the ground, where Mr White admitted punching the driver in the face five times but said he had acted in self-defence.

Mr Iqbal was subsequently dragged back to his car by his two friends and was taken to hospital, where it was found that he had suffered six fractures to his face.

Mr White, 35, claimed that the injuries had occurred when one of the driver’s friends had attempted to punch him but had missed and mistakenly struck Mr Iqbal.

Mr White was later arrested and charged with assault to severe injury, permanent impairment and permanent disfigurement, along with a racial harassment charge, and stood trial over five days at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week.

The court was shown dashcam footage of Mr Iqbal speeding past a queue of traffic waiting at the temporary lights and going through a red traffic light signal at about 8.30pm on April 17 last year.

The footage showed the blue Audi narrowly missing two pedestrians crossing the road and being struck by a cone being held by Mr White.

Facial fractures

Mr Iqbal told the jury that he was not from Edinburgh and had not seen the red light signal.

He claimed that Mr White had thrown the cone at his car, resulting in him stopping and getting out in an attempt to get insurance details.

He denied acting aggressively towards the road worker and denied that his friend had punched him by mistake during the confrontation.

The driver told the jury that he heard racist slurs being aimed at him and his friends but could not remember some details of the incident due to the alleged assault on him.

When challenged on his evidence, Mr Iqbal said: “I wouldn’t put my hand on the Koran and sit here and lie.”

The court heard that Mr Iqbal suffered six facial fractures to his face during the incident, including a fractured eye socket, a fractured cheekbone and a broken nose.

Omar Iqbal, a passenger in the car, told the court that his friend had “lost consciousness” during the journey to the hospital and was “covered in blood” following the “brutal attack”.

'A goner'

Mr White told the jury that he was the clerk of works at the roadworks site and saw the car travelling at “high speed” through the red light as he made his way to the crossing with a cone in his hand.

He said he thought he was “a goner” and believed he was “going to be hit by the car”.

He said: “The car was 30cm from me when it passed. Another step forward and I would have been over the bonnet.”

Mr White said that the car came to an abrupt halt and three men came towards him in an aggressive manner that had left him “frightened and scared” before he said he was punched in the face by one of the men.

He told the court that he took his jacket and hard hat off as he prepared to defend himself but the driver had picked the jacket up and was walking off with it.

He said that he jumped on Mr Iqbal in a bid to retrieve his belongings, resulting in a physical altercation between the two men, and said one of the driver’s friends attempted to punch him but had missed.

He admitted striking Mr Iqbal five times to the face as they rolled on the ground but claimed the act was in self-defence as the two other men were standing over him and he feared for his life.

Mr White, along with two workmen who also gave evidence, told the jury that no racial language was used by anyone at any time.

He told the jury: “I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”

Following five days of evidence, the jury took less a than an hour to acquit Mr White of all the charges.

The jury delivered a majority not guilty verdict to the assault to severe injury, permanent impairment and permanent disfigurement charge, and a unanimous not guilty verdict to the alleged offence of racially aggravated harassment.