A MAN who took matters into his own hands after yobs plagued his village now has to pay THEM compensation.Former window cleaner Wayne Mann "lost it" after teenagers tore round on bikes near waste ground at 11pm.

By Amanda Cresswell

A MAN who took matters into his own hands after yobs plagued his village now has to pay THEM compensation.

Former window cleaner Wayne Mann "lost it" after teenagers tore round on bikes near waste ground at 11pm.

After one of the youths rode straight at him Mann picked up a branch and hit four of the group, a court heard.

Mann, of Watson Way, Alderton, admitted assaulting the youngsters and damaging two bikes.

After the case he told The Evening Star: "I shouldn't have done what I did but people are fed up with yobbish behaviour.

"It is just lack of consideration. You are polite and ask them to not do this, but after a while you get annoyed by it.

"They may stop that night, but just start again. I have been woken up numerous times.

"It is not just bikes. We have a doctors' surgery and that was trashed, and we had the village hall vandalised, although I am not saying that these four were responsible for this.''

The court heard that Mann was woken up when the four were riding bikes on the recreation ground in Alderton.

Prosecutor Gareth Davies told South East Suffolk magistrates: "Having experienced on previous occasions the same sort of behaviour he lost his temper and armed himself with a fairly substantial branch."

In the semi-darkness he went into the group of four boys and swung the branch around.

Two sustained cuts and bruises and the third a suspected broken rib, although there was no medical evidence produced to support this. The court heard a fourth was punched and that his injuries included tenderness to his left eye, a tender left jaw and chipped tooth.

"It happened out of the blue," said Mr Davies. "It was quite clearly a shock to these youths."

Dino Barricella, defending, said youths had caused annoyance and a nuisance in the village.

A barn had been burned down - although there was no suggestion the same youths were responsible for this.

He added: "Bikes on the recreation ground have not only annoyed Mann, but the whole neighbourhood.

"These youths (the victims) are the first to acknowledge that Mann has approached them and been polite in the past and asked them to stop, but with no great joy."

He told the court that on the night Mann had gone to bed but was woken up by shouting and swearing.

"Mann had gone out to confront the youths and stumbled on the branch. One drove directly at him and he picked up the branch in self-defence.

"In sheer frustration he fully admits he 'lost it'. He is not a violent man, but it was in frustration after being provoked by these lads against a background of yobbery."

Fifteen minutes after the incident, the court heard, a stone and chair were flung at Mann's home.

Mann was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £10 to each victim and £55 costs.

The court was told that 39-year-old Mann was "genuinely sorry'' for his actions.