A HUDDERSFIELD man has been banned from using Northern Rail trains for six months after he assaulted a passenger and a conductor.
The banning order follows a violent incident on a Leeds to Wakefield service more than a year ago when Christian St Hillaire racially abused an Iranian passenger and punched female conductor Natalie Best on the arm.
The busy commuter train had just left Leeds station when St Hillaire confronted Alireza Javadi and his wife and began shouting abuse.
During the disturbance Mr Javadi, who suffered back problems, was thrown against a vertical metal bar in the carriage and at one point St Hillaire picked up a fire extinguisher and started shouting: ‘Come on’.
The conductor heard the commotion and came out of the cab area to hear St Hillaire shouting further abuse.
As she tried to reason with him he pushed the fire extinguisher at her and punched her on the arm. After wrestling the fire extinguisher from St Hillaire the conductor went back into the cab and called the police, but the defendant followed and kicked at the door causing the glass to go through.
The train driver managed to get St Hillaire off the train, but as they walked along the tracks the defendant started throwing ballast at a window causing it to smash.
St Hillaire, of North Road, Kirkburton, pleaded guilty to charges of racially-aggravated common assault, common assault and criminal damage. Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said he had decided not to jail St Hillaire after hearing that he was “seriously unwell” at the time of the offences in June last year.
St Hillaire was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, but he will also be subject to an electronically-monitored night-time curfew for the next three months.
