Katie Boulter wins after revealing ‘disgusting' online abuse
Katie Boulter has experienced an outpouring of support from other players after revealing the extent of the abuse she receives on social media.
Boulter, the British No2 and world No39, spoke out about the death threats and toxic online comments that have been directed at her and her family, saying that the abuse came mainly from gamblers who had lost money on her matches. Her fellow players have related their own experiences and joined her in demanding further action from the authorities.
In an interview with the BBC, Boulter gave examples of the 'disgusting' abusive messages, including one telling her to buy 'candles and a coffin for your entire family', with a reference to her 'grandmother's grave if she's not dead by tomorrow', one stating she should 'go to hell' as she had cost the perpetrator money from a bet, and another stating 'hope you get cancer'.
The WTA and the ITF, the governing bodies for the women's game, introduced a service 18 months ago called Threat Matrix, aimed at protecting players and their families from targeted online hate, and that service has revealed the degree to which unwanted messages come from disenchanted gamblers.
BBC SPORT
In 2024, 458 players were targeted with direct abuse or threats and five players received 26 per cent of the total abuse identified. Angry gamblers were calculated to be responsible for 40 per cent of abusive messages in that 12-month period.
'A lot of comments are very emotional responses and a lot of them reference gambling, saying you lost them a lot of money,' Boulter, 28, said after winning her first-round match at the Nottingham Open. 'I do find a lot of it is based on that. It's a new area that we're trying to improve.
'I'm past the point of worrying what people actually say to me, it's more about stopping it from happening. It's so important for young girls to not be so focused on social media, to not care as much what people think. It can be pretty tough as a young woman and someone trying to find their way. My goal was to raise awareness, because there's a lot of it.'
Boulter's fellow British players at Nottingham identified with the problems she had spoken about. Fran Jones, who caused a surprise by beating Harriet Dart 7-5, 6-4, welcomed the subject being brought to wider attention. 'Every player experiences it. Some probably deal with it better than others,' Jones said.
'I know Boults has struggled badly with some of the stuff. I think even here she had a difficult experience at one point. A couple of the other higher-profile British players have struggled with that sort of thing as well. I know WTA are trying to use Threat Matrix to counter it, but these people find ways around the [prohibited] wording. I don't think it's an easy fix.'
Dart expressed exasperation that social media companies were not doing more to identify the perpetrators of online abuse. 'What's quite scary is that we think this is normal because the amount of abuse we all get is pretty mind-blowing,' she said. 'This isn't just a tennis issue, it's a global issue. We live in the 21st century and how we're not IDing people [who send abuse] on social media, it's pretty horrific.'
There was widespread support for Boulter from across the sport. 'I looked on my phone this morning and there were hundreds of messages of people reacting,' she said. 'Every person was telling me to disregard it, how much they appreciate me bringing this subject to light. I don't think people are aware of it, how much it happens to players.'
The Arsenal and England Women striker Alessia Russo said Boulter's experience was a familiar one and added that she will step away from social media during this summer's European Championship.
'Every player might have a different story about that side of the game but it's one that can be really damaging,' Russo, 26, said. 'I have faced it in the past and I think most players here have. When I was younger I probably got sucked into it more. I read it more than I should have and listened to it more than I should have.'
On the court, Boulter raced to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in only 1hr 14min over Lulu Sun, the world No44 from New Zealand. Chasing a third consecutive Nottingham Open title, at a venue only a short drive away from her family home in Leicestershire, Boulter was quickly into her stride, winning the first four games against Sun, who beat Emma Raducanu on her way to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year.
In the second round she will face Sonay Kartal, the British No3 and world No50, who enjoyed a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win against Leolia Jeanjean, the world No94 from France.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
The homeowners being slapped with petty fines of up to £1,000 by jobsworth councils for leaving a SINGLE item of rubbish outside their properties
Homeowners are being slapped with petty fines of up to £1,000 by jobsworth council officials for leaving even a single item of rubbish outside their properties and campaigning against local cuts to services. Bungling staff have threatened a single mother who left furniture outside her property to go to a good home with prison and fined a man for putting his bins out a day early when he was going on holiday. Officials have even slapped a five-year-old girl with a £1,000 fine and threatened to take her to court after falsely claiming a warden saw her fly-tipping - before being forced to admit no worker had seen anything of the kind. It comes after a woman was issued an on-the-spot fine for passing out leaflets to fellow residents in Leicester campaigning against council cuts because she set up a camping table. As UK councils are being accused of lacking common sense, residents up and down the country are being warned to have extra caution before doing anything outside of their own home and driveway. Experts told MailOnline councils may seek to fine people for offences ranging from leaving a single black bin bag next to a full bin to not having a level bin lid. But they added it's 'always' worth challenging a fine if individuals think they have been issued incorrectly. A grandmother was this week slapped with a £100 fine for setting up a camping table in the street - after being told it breached anti-social behaviour laws. Heather Rawling, 72, of Fleckney, Leicestershire, was hit with the penalty notice after setting up the 2m table in Leicester to campaign against council cuts. But while she was campaigning on May 31 she was approached by a street warden who ordered her to dismantle it, branding it an 'unauthorised structure'. The retired humanities teacher was told she was in breach of a public spaces protection order (PSPO), designed to combat anti-social behaviour such as street drinkers and e-bike riders. She received a £100 fine three days later but vowed to fight the matter in court, where she estimates the bill could rise to £1,000 if she loses. Mrs Rawling has now slammed council bosses for trying to prevent political campaigning after they accused her of putting up an 'unauthorised structure on the highway.' She said: 'We were in the city centre and had a little campaign stall where we were protesting against the cuts by Leicester City Council. 'We were there for about half an hour and then the street wardens saw us. I accept the PSPO can be needed to deal with people on e-bikes, noisy speakers or street drinkers. 'But this was a small camping table which we had for leaflets and so people could sign a petition. I firmly stood my ground as I feel this is an attack on people's rights to campaign. 'There are people up and down the county who do campaign stalls and tables everywhere. All I had was a camping table two metres long in a wide pedestrian area. I don't think we were in anybody's way. There was plenty of space. 'I was not obstructing anybody, I wasn't causing a nuisance. The council might think I'm a nuisance, but in terms of passersby and pedestrians, they didn't care at all. 'The warden asked me if I was aware of the PSPO and explained what it was and asked me if I was prepared to take the stall table down. 'He asked for my details and I was reluctant to at first. He even said he would call the police so I gave him my information. He issued me with a fixed penalty notice. 'I think this was political - we were asked to take it down because we were campaigning about council cuts.' Mrs Rawling, who is a member of the Socialist Party, now has until June 14 to pay the fine - but says she would rather go to court than pay. She added: 'I plan to plead not guilty to it. The danger is if I lost in court, they could charge court costs. I am taking a risk, but I feel strongly about this issue. 'I'm not going to pay it on principle, and if I have to go to court, I will. All groups should have a right to campaign. 'The council issued the PSPO order that includes amplification, people on e-bikes and e-scooters. At the end of the order they've tagged on unauthorised structures like stall tables. 'We are in an era full of austerity and cutbacks and despite more and people getting angry about what's happening they don't want us to protest about it.' A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: 'This group had put up a table, in breach of the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that covers the city centre. 'One of our wardens asked them to take down the table and advised that if they didn't, they would be issued with a fixed penalty notice. They refused to take it down and so a fine was issued.' It is just the latest example of overbearing council officials issuing fines for petty 'offences' including offering free furniture and putting out bins 'too early'. Meanwhile a husband who surprised his wife by tidying up the garden has been hit with a £1,000 fine after leaving a bag of waste at the back of their property. While his wife was away caring for her father, Adam Castledine, 42, wanted to clear the garden before the return of his partner. After mowing the lawn, Mr Castledine, from Bramcote, deposited all the garden waste in a bag, which he placed near the back gate. This was due to the bag being too heavy to lift alone, with the couple planning to put the bag in the car and take it to the tip upon Mr Castledine's wife's return. Two days later, however, on May 22, the family was hit with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice from Broxtowe Borough Council for fly-tipping. Just last month a 37-year-old from West Kensington was fined £1,000 after putting his bins out a day early before going on holiday. Clyde Strachan decided to help refuse collectors by placing his rubbish outside his West Kensington home shortly before midday in May. He then went away for a week and when he returned was faced with an 'environmental enforcement notice', which demanded he make contact with Hammersmith and Fulham Council. The engineer then received an £1,000 fixed penalty notice, stating: 'There was one large box, six bags of waste, and one food bin deposited on the pavement and left. 'It isn't collection day so it shouldn't be there. There is no formal right to appeal, however the council will accept representations from you within seven days.' He said at the time: 'I spoke on the phone to one of the council officers and said I was willing to receive a warning but felt a £1,000 fine was excessive. 'I said I had put the bins out early as I was not available the next day. It was an honest mistake. I didn't feel as though I needed to grovel, but it felt like that was what he was after.' The fine has since been retracted after a review found 'Mr Strachan made an honest mistake and is not a persistent fly-tipper.' In September, single mother Isabelle Pepin, from Southborne, Dorset, placed an Ikea chest of draws and stacking cabinet outside her home, along with a sign stating they were free for anyone to take. The chest of drawers was quickly snatched up, and after a few hours, Ms Pepin returned the stacking cabinet to her property. She was then stunned to receive a £500 flytipping fine by council officials, who turned up at her doorstep three weeks later - even threatening her with prison. Ms Pepin, who lives with her eight-year-old son Bear, was making his tea when the council official turned up on her doorstep and demanded to know her name and date of birth before issuing her with the fine. She said she started to record the visit on her mobile phone because she felt 'intimidated'. She said: 'I have lived in this property for 12 years and I see people in the area leaving things out probably every other day. I love the community factor of it. 'It's not fly-tipping, that is not what is happening here. It's recycling things people no longer want or need.' She added: 'He then told me that the maximum penalty is £50,000 and prison time. I am usually quite a confident person but by this point I was shaking and panicking. 'He didn't show any documentation or anything in writing. He did show me an ID card but it was very basic. It was just a picture of him, his name and BCP Council. 'He said I needed to give him my name and address and I would be committing another offence if I didn't. He then printed off a ticket, saying I had 14 days to pay £500 or it would go up to £1,000.' In Ipswich, new resident Ben Riley was also fined £500 after he put several black bin bags filled with rubbish outside his home next to his wheelie bin. Mr Riley, who had just moved from Essex where he lived for 28 years, said: 'My wheelie bin was full. I've only recently moved to Ipswich from Essex. I lived there 28 years of my life and the council never moaned about a bag next to a wheelie bin before but here it's a big deal. 'Back home, you could happily put rubbish bags next to your bin and they would be taken by the binmen. I have never been issued with a fine or anything in the 28 years I lived there. 'I also got mixed up with which bin was being collected that week, so it was six days before bin collections. 'It's not like I've dumped a mattress or a television set in the middle of the road. It's next to my back gate. '£500 for a first offence is a bit extreme. I have just put general waste next to my wheelie bin because it was too full.' He added: 'It is ridiculous how extreme it is. I have been threatened with five years in prison or an unlimited fine if this goes to court.' The council turned down an appeal by Mr Riley and said leaving bin bags on the street 'can cause public health issues and encourage anti-social behaviour.' And in December, a north London council tried to take a five-year-old girl to court after she was accused of flytipping by Harrow Council, which said a member of their team had witnessed her drop a parcel. It later emerged that no officer had in fact seen the five-year-old do anything of the sort, and instead proceedings had begun after the parcel, with her name on it, was found in a nearby street. But rather than check the identity of the name, officials immediately sent a letter to the family home issuing the child with a £1,000 fine. With Christmas just around the corner, she was advised that they were 'about to instruct the council's legal team to start court proceedings' against her. The letter also warned her that a conviction carries a maximum £2,500 fine. After multiple appeals and requests for help from the father, the council eventually rescinded the fine and said that fining children 'is not official council policy'. It came after Deborah and Ian Day, from Stoke, were charged £400 after one of them placed a single envelope in a public bin on her way to work. Deborah Day, 47, who lives on Dividy Road, in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, was shocked when both she and her husband were issued with £200 fines after council workers fished the envelope out of the bin. Council investigators said this breaches sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and constitutes it as an offence of littering because household waste cannot be put in a public bin. The hairdresser said: 'I have received a letter from the council with a fine of £200 and my husband (Ian) has received one too because apparently we're both to blame. 'It is for an empty envelope inside a bin and the council has even attached a photo of the envelope which had my address on it in their letter'. Eamonn Turley, a legal specialist at Multi Quote Time, told MailOnline: 'A lot of individuals fall into traps without even realising they've committed an offence. 'Examples include placing an extra bag of rubbish on top of or next to your wheelie bin if it's already full—most councils, including Birmingham and Manchester, class that as fly-tipping, even if it's clearly household waste. 'Another is not flattening cardboard boxes enough and having them sticking out of a recycling bin with the lid open. Councils like Leeds or Bristol can fine householders if the bin lid is not level, as this can jam the machinery at collection. 'And then there is contamination—putting the wrong item in your recycling, like a pizza box with food on it or a plastic bag, which can lead to a whole bin being rejected and tagged. What's complicated is that many people are trying to be helpful but, not having seen what's allowed, they inadvertently fall foul of the rules.' He added: 'To avoid these fines, the most important thing residents can do is familiarize themselves with their specific council's waste disposal regulations because there is no one-size-fits-all rule for the entire UK. 'For instance, some councils like Westminster or Camden in London have exact time frames when you can take out your bins for collection—miss them, and you'll be fined. 'Others, particularly in rural areas, may be less concerned about timing but more stringent about what you put in each bin. 'Fly-tipping, even dumping something as seemingly innocuous as a mattress or a cardboard box next to a communal bin, is a criminal offence in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and can result in considerable fixed penalties of up to £400—or prosecution in more serious instances. 'The safest thing to do is to arrange bulky item collection through your council's own service or to personally take items to the tip or recycling centre. Councils also target hotspots with CCTV or plain-clothes officers, so it's just not worth the risk.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment Brit is knocked unconscious after getting sucker-punched by Benidorm local while arguing with bouncers
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'We'd been in there for two hours or so - it seemed a nice bar and all of a sudden we heard a bit of a commotion. 'There was a smaller guy who we think was a local and he looked like a bouncer but looked a bit too small to be one. 'He was asking them to leave, and then the larger bouncer came over and things got a bit heated. 'It looks like the smaller guy then knocks him out. 'He was out cold, and his leg looked dislocated.' The condition of the Brit who was floored in the Benidorm bar fight is not known. The bust-up comes just months after a British holidaymaker was left fighting for his life in intensive care after being punched by a bouncer in Benidorm. Andrew Frazer, 43, was on a lads' break in Spain in November when he was floored by the doorman with a single punch in an alleged unprovoked attack. His condition deteriorated after initial treatment and he had to undergo urgent surgery to have part of his skull cut away to relieve swelling on his brain. Andrew had flown out to Spain with his brother Ian and four other friends to attend Europe's largest fancy dress party in the holiday destination. Ian said that he had been three or four times previously to Benidorm's fancy dress festival which follows on from the Spanish resort's annual Fiesta, and regularly attracts 20,000 visitors. He said: 'Some of the lads had not been to Benidorm before so we took them to a couple of places, and landed up in this bar. 'We were leaving at around 1.30am. Andrew was outside waiting for us in the road and we were following him out. 'He was on the kerb edge of the footpath, and this bouncer was stood in front of him and in his face. 'My brother was looking over his shoulder to see when we were coming out, and this guy just punched him and knocked him out. 'He fell backwards and hit his head on the road because he was out cold. I ran over and held his head. 'A British nurse who was walking past with her husband rushed to help and propped his head up. She was horrified by what had happened and stayed with us. 'The next few minutes were a bit of a blur until the ambulance and police arrived. 'I was concentrating on my brother, and saw the police were talking to the bouncer, but in a casual manner. 'A police officer said to me, 'Do you want to press charges?', and I said: 'Mate, I am concentrating on my brother.' 'My mate asked them to have a look at the CCTV on the building, but the policeman turned round and said, 'It's broke'. 'Andrew was unconscious for several minutes, but it seemed like an age. The paramedics put him in an ambulance on a stretcher and took him to hospital. 'One friend went with him while I ran back to our apartment to get his passport. Then I caught a taxi to the hospital. 'Our friend was talking to reception at the hospital for five or ten minutes to get him signed in, and was then shown to a room where he was. 'A nurse had him bent over and was putting seven staples into this nasty wound in the back of his head. There were no scans or anything.' After paying a 200 euro fee to the private clinic, Ian took his brother back to their apartment in the taxi, where he slept on a sofa bed. Ian added: 'The next morning he woke up and I told him I was going out for fresh air, and he replied, 'I'm OK, I'm alright'. 'I then asked him his name and he gave the same reply. Every time he was asked a question, he said the same words and nothing else. 'He managed to get up and took his clothes off before going back to sleep. After that, he woke up and was slurring his words, and he spent the rest of the day sleeping. I thought he was just concussed. 'We were due to fly home on Saturday, and it was clear on the Friday that he was not fit to fly, so we called an ambulance. 'It was a struggle to put him in the wheelchair because he was a dead weight. When he was at the hospital, he had a scan and they found a bleed on his brain. 'The doctor said that if he did not have an operation he would die, and he was transferred to a hospital in Alicante. 'He was put in intensive care and his condition seemed to improve, meaning he could be moved to a neurology ward.' But things went downhill for Andrew after doctors said they had to operate him at once. Andrew spent two and a half hours in surgery having part of his skull removed Ian, a civil engineer, said: 'The neuro-surgeon told us that they have to wait for his brain swelling to go down before reattaching his skull, but that it could take up to one or two months. Just nine days before ending up in intensive care, Andrew, a father-of-two, had proposed to his long-term partner, Carrie. Carrie and Ian said they had formally reported the alleged attack to the Spanish police, but did not want to comment further, pending the investigation. Ian said they had a number of witnesses to the incident including the British nurse who initially gave first aid to Andrew.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Sister of 'feral' e-bike rider whose goading of police officer led to veteran officer being hauled into court is also a serial criminal - as neighbours reveal 'hell' of living next to pair
A teenage e-bike thug whose goading of police led to an innocent officer being dragged to court is not the only 'feral' member of his family. Mason McGarry, 19, was jailed earlier this month after he drove at 60mph in a 40mph zone during a police chase before mounting the pavement and hitting a lorry. The teenager who has 42 previous convictions was earlier nudged off his e-bike by an officer using the bumper of his patrol car in another police chase in 2022. PC Tim Bradshaw knocked off McGarry and his pillion passenger Dominic Mizzi, 22, to prevent them from getting away and putting other road users and pedestrians at risk after they made offensive gestures to him. The officer was later charged with causing injury by dangerous driving before being cleared by a jury at Portsmouth Crown Court, Hampshire. MailOnline can now reveal that McGarry's sister Ella McGarry, 18, was spared a jail sentence today for acting as a getaway driver for a wanted man. It emerged in court that she was following in the footsteps of her older brother with a lengthy criminal record of her own. Magistrates heard that she already had nine convictions for 16 previous offences including robbery, using a stolen bank card, burglary and attempted robbery - all committed when she was 17 years of age. Neighbours of the McGarry family home in the Aldwick area of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, today told MailOnline of the 'hell' of living alongside them. One near neighbour said: 'I think they'd been through a lot but they were a bit of a nightmare. The police were coming out day and night to speak to the kids. 'People were getting sick of the noise as well. It was out of control at some points, and it wasn't fair on other residents round here.' Another said: 'Everyone has their problems, but they made their problems our problems and it stressed both me and my wife out. 'They were off the rails and didn't mind who they upset. It was a right pain.' Magistrates in Worthing, West, Sussex, heard today how Miss McGarry was with her former boyfriend when police arrived to arrest him last November at her home But when officers asked for his identity, he gave them false details and the pair walked out, and got into her black Renault Clio. By the time police realised they had been hoodwinked, they had made off and driven nearly 25 miles before being pulled over in Southwick, Brighton. Officers found that Miss McGarry had already been disqualified from driving six weeks earlier for an offence of aggravated vehicle taking, and arrested her. She admitted driving while disqualified and possession of cannabis after she was found with a single cannabis joint. Abi Taylor-Hall, prosecuting, said Miss McGarry's former boyfriend was wanted over an unrelated matter when officers arrived to arrest him at her home. She said he gave the officers false details and then left the property, and 'was driven (away) by the defendant'. Miss Taylor-Hall added: 'Police intercepted the vehicle at Southwick in Brighton, 25 miles away and the defendant was found in the driving seat, and he was in the passenger seat.' Describing how Miss McGarry had already been banned from the road, the prosecutor said: 'The defendant had decided to get behind the wheel of a car again. She was not nipping round the corner.' Rachel Roberts, defending, said Miss McGarry had been in a controlling relationship with her former boyfriend, and felt she had to get him out of the house. She added: 'This has been a salutary experience for her. It is the first time she has appeared in the adult court. 'She knows it could result in custody. She is fearful of going into custody because of her previous convictions which are serious.' Miss Roberts said: 'She was in flight or fight mode that morning. Her brother turned up very early that morning along with her former boyfriend. 'She wanted to get him out of the house. It was a foolish decision to leave the property in her car.' Magistrates were told she had been trying to get her life back on track, had got a job interview this week and was keen to avoid returning to court. Instead of getting a custodial sentence, she was given a 12-month community order and told her to attend 15 rehabilitation days. She was also ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 costs. Miss McGarry's existing driving ban was extended to 15 months and will not expire until September 2026. Her brother first made headlines when it was revealed in Portsmouth Crown Court that PC Bradshaw was standing trial after knocking him off his e-bike. The court heard how McGarry and Mizzi who also had numerous convictions including for an assault on an emergency worker, had sped away after making offensive gestures to the officer in Bognor Regis. During his trial, PC Bradshaw said police officers were involved in regular pursuits with electric motorbikes but were unable to apprehend the riders because of their ability to slip down alleyways and closed roads. He said his act of knocking them off their e-bike by 'nudging' the back wheel in a 'tactical contact' manoeuvre had been authorised by his superiors and he was permitted to use 'reasonable force'. The officer told the court: 'It was light contact ... there was not a blemish on my police car. I believed it was a justified, necessary action.' Jurors took just over an hour to unanimously return a not guilty verdict for causing serious injury by dangerous driving in what judge David Melville KC referred to as an 'important case'. McGarry was said to have been top of a list of balaclava-wearing offenders who terrorised officers. He underwent surgery for a broken tibia after the incident, and claimed that Bradshaw did not give any warning before knocking him off. The stress of the incident and prosecution led to PC Bradshaw taking early retirement from Sussex Police after 22 years service. He now works as a bus driver. But just a month after the officer was cleared, McGarry was involved in another police chase on March 28 this year. Prosecutor Gary Venturi told Portsmouth Crown Court on June 6 that McGarry had borrowed a Vauxhall Insignia from a friend, who then called the police after he didn't return it by the time he promised to do so. The teenager was in the car with his sister and two other passengers when they were pursued by police in Chichester, West Sussex. At one point he drove 'as high as 60mph in a 40mph limit' before mounting a pavement and hitting a lorry. Mr Venturi said: 'He emerges from a T junction and tries to squeeze in by the lorry, mounting the pavement, striking the lorry causing £1,200 of damage.' The pursuit lasted around five minutes, ending when McGarry arrived at his home nearby. McGarry admitted dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, driving whilst disqualified, failing to stop and driving without insurance, and was given 12 months custody in a Young Offenders Institution. The court heard that his 'unenviable' list of 42 previous convictions included offences of drug possession and trafficking, burglary, theft, assault of an emergency worker, and dangerous driving. After seeing footage of the pursuit, Judge Jodie Mittell said: 'Frankly it was very lucky that there was nobody walking along the pavement'. Referencing his previous convictions relating to dangerous driving, Judge Mittell said: 'The concern I obviously have is that the fifth time he will kill someone. 'That could be his sister.' The judge told him: 'There's a risk not only to you, that you would get injured, but that people you care about, who were in the car, might also be injured.' Judge Mittell added: 'The last thing any of us want to see is you being back here, having killed somebody.' Paul Walker, defending, said that McGarry had ADHD, a learning disability, and 'low emotional awareness'. He admitted that it would have been a 'gamble' to release him into the community rather than give him a custodial sentence. During a voluntary interview with police ahead of his trial, PC Bradshaw described McGarry as a 'feral' teenager and someone who 'just doesn't get it, just doesn't stop'. Jurors heard PC Bradshaw and the teenager were 'well known' to one another, with the pair first interacting when McGarry was 12. Mr Bradshaw told the Mail on Sunday how he came face to face with McGarry, who 'goaded' him about the court case. The former officer said: 'He looked at me all cocky and arrogant, telling everyone on board that I'd knocked him down but that he had taken my job. 'He threatened my family. Then he took a big spliff out of his mouth and blew smoke in my face. I said, 'Go away Mason and take your cannabis with you'. Then he lunged at me. 'He was joined by his mate in a balaclava who was threatening to stab another bus driver. Of course no action was taken against them.' Mr Bradshaw called for police chiefs to take more action to tackle 'the huge problem that illegal e-bikes are causing all over our country'. He said: 'Officers are always looking over their shoulders ... it makes them reluctant to think on their feet and be hands-on. If we don't grasp this reality then the unscrupulous criminals causing chaos will keep running rings around us.'
