A THUG hit a man with a metal bar during a “frightening” road rage incident on a sunny afternoon in a busy town centre.

Andrew Bourke, 42, also known as Andrew Taylor, struck the victim with the weapon in Monmouth over the summer, prosecutor Nik Strobl told Cardiff Crown Court.

He caused his victim a two-and-a-half inch wound to the back of his head before he brandished a knife when Gary Trivett tried to defuse the situation.

The violence unfolded on Monnow Street at around 4.30pm on the afternoon of Monday, August 12 when the area was full of pedestrians and shoppers.

An “irate” Bourke had walked into the middle of the road because he was furious there had been a problem with his prescription at a nearby pharmacy.

When he was “beeped” by a driver to get out of the way, the victim's partner, the defendant went to confront her.

When he, a passenger in the car, went to protect her, Bourke, who had taken out the metal bar from his rucksack, “goaded” him to hit him.

The judge, Recorder Victoria Hillier, said: “In self-defence, the victim did punch and kick you in the leg but he didn't attempt to disarm you because he felt threatened as a result of your actions and the presence of the weapon.

“Following this you swung the metal bar at him and it collided with his wrist and part of it collided with the back of his head.

“There is then some kind of scuffle and the victim is not sure if he was hit again but there was one definite hit which caused bleeding from the back of his head.”

After taking out the knife and threatening Mr Trivett with it, he left the scene.

Bourke pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, possession of an offensive weapon in public and possession of a bladed article.

The defendant, of Redbrook, Monmouth has a long history of violence and was on licence at the time of the offences.

He has 28 previous convictions for 54 offences.

James Evans for Bourke said it was his client who had been assaulted first.

Recorder Hillier told the defendant: “This must have been a very frightening experience for all those involved.

“You produced weapons in the middle of a busy street.”

He was jailed for 28 months.