Call for East Lindsey councillor who assaulted boy, 14, to resign

Labour councillor Phillip Smith, also known as Phyll Smith, said he had felt intimidated before pulling a teenage boy off his bike

A Labour councillor who assaulted a teenage boy cycling the wrong way down a one-way street should resign, says a political opponent.

East Lindsey councillor Phillip Smith pulled the 14-year-old off his bike and stamped on a wheel, Boston Magistrates' Court heard.

Smith admitted assault by beating and criminal damage but said he had felt intimidated before the incident.

Conservative council leader Craig Leyland said Mr Smith should step down.

Mr Smith, 51, of Queen Street in Louth, was on Queen Street at 11:20 GMT on 4 November 2022 when he saw two boys cycling the wrong way down a one-way street, the court heard.

Fiona McLellan, prosecuting, said Smith called out to the boys but they continued and said they needed to take that route to get home.

Mr Smith grabbed the boy by the arm causing him to fall to the ground, Ms McLellan said.

Confused and traumatised

She said Mr Smith, also known as Phyll Smith, then stamped on the wheel of the bicycle, damaging it.

The councillor's defence was that he felt intimated by the boys.

The court heard Smith was blind in one eye with a narrow field of vision and that he had felt confused and traumatised by the cyclists.

Council leader Craig Leyland said Mr Smith should stand down from his role as a councillor

Following the conviction, Conservative Mr Leyland said Mr Smith "should consider his position of trust with the public".

He said while there was no rule to force Mr Smith to stand down he should "act with integrity to maintain the dignity of the office".

But councillor Ros Jackson, leader of the Labour group, said her colleague "was not involved as a councillor or on party business" at the time of the incident, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said the matter was resolved, adding: "His action on the day was certainly a misjudgement but in no way a political act."

Smith, who is a councillor for Holton le Clay and North Thoresby, appeared at magistrates' court on 21 December 2022 where he was fined £372.

A spokesperson for East Lindsey District Council said the authority would take no further action.