A man has been convicted of an assault after a case of mistaken identity.

Stephen Arthur Dockerill, aged 51, of Sulby Road, Willaston, admitted an offence of common assault and will be sentenced on June 26 after the preparation of a probation report.

Prosecutor Michael Jelski told the court how, on April 17 at 11.50pm, police were called to an address in James Street in Douglas.

A man reported being assaulted outside his house as he smoked a cigarette.

The man told police he was smoking outside when he saw Dockerill, who he did not know, approaching.

Dockerill asked him for a cigarette but he told him that he did not have one.

Dockerill walked away but then was said to have turned around and approached the man again.

He then asked the man if he knew someone called ’Davison’ but suddenly started punching him to the side of the head several times.

The man fell to the ground and Dockerill was then said to have kicked him in the ribs two or three times.

CCTV footage was viewed by police which identified Dockerill leaving the area and getting into a taxi which later dropped him off near Sulby Road.

He was later arrested and clothing matching the items worn by the man in the video were found in Dockerill’s house.

During a police interview, Dockerill admitted the assault but added that he was intoxicated and he had thought the victim was someone who had previously assaulted him.

Punches

He told police: ’I’m sorry I regret what I’ve done.’

Defence advocate Ian Kermode entered a basis of plea on behalf of his client in which Dockerill admitted throwing two punches at the man.

But Dockerill claimed that he had only kicked the victim on the ground because the man had grabbed his testicles.

However the victim said in his statement to the police that he had grabbed his attacker’s testicles after being kicked in an attempt to stop him.

Magistrates ruled that the difference in the prosecution and defence accounts would not make a material difference to sentencing and that Dockerill would be sentenced on the version in his basis of plea.

Bail was granted in the sum of £500 with conditions that Dockerill contact probation and reside at his home address.