A man who hurled racial slurs at a traffic warden in Bath who was giving him a ticket has been fined £200 and ordered to pay compensation for the distress he caused.
Gavin Wilson,56, from Kenilworth, appeared before Bath magistrates on Wednesday 8th April to admit that on 18th October 2025, his words and behaviour intentionally caused Grzegorz Broda harassment, alarm or distress, and the offence was racially aggravated.
Prosecutor Maree Doyle told the court that Wilson had parked in a disabled bay near Waitrose in Walcot Street but was not displaying a Blue Badge.
As he saw the ticket being issued, Wilson told the attendant that his exhaust had broken and he was having a bad day.
He was abusive and invaded the attendant’s space in an interaction that lasted a couple of minutes and was caught on the council employee’s body-worn camera.
An eyewitness told Wilson: “I am glad you got a ticket – you deserved it.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Broda said he’d been in this country for 20 years and the incident had upset and “really offended” him, making him feel “unwelcome”. He said: “I hope the male will learn from this experience.”
Duty solicitor Jennifer Stetson said Wilson, of previous good character, was “deeply ashamed”. She said it was an “entirely isolated” incident.
Wilson was in Bath to visit a friend of his late father’s. He had parked in the disabled bay after his exhaust pipe had fallen off. She added that it was ironic as Wilson is disabled due to a bad hip.
She said that at the time he had been “in a pressure cooker of distress, grief and exhaustion” and had also recently been diagnosed with diabetes, which can cause “significant” mood swings.
As well as the fine, which was uplifted from £120 due to the racial element of the offence, magistrates ordered Wilson to pay a court surcharge of £80.
He must pay £100 compensation to Mr Broda but no order was made regarding prosecution costs due to Wilson’s lack of means.
