A MAN snapped by a photographer having sex with a married woman in his Jaguar outside the entrance to a Churt fish farm decided to give chase and snatch the camera, a court heard. Enraged Alan Battle, 47, who was semi-naked, tailgated the man and his twin brother along a country lane, repeatedly smashing into their 4x4 pick-up before finally turning it over, crushing the cab. He then ran at 20-year-old injured driver Leon Smale, punching him in the shoulder and screaming at him to hand over the photos and saying "I'm going to kill you." The incident led to Battle, of Winchester Road, Ash Wharf, being jailed for 10 months when he appeared before Guildford Crown Court for sentence after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, common assault, and possession of cannabis. Michael Speak, prosecuting, told the court how the twins, Christopher and Leon Smale, were driving out of their father's Pride of the Valley fish farm on Thursley Road, Churt, when they noticed a Jaguar parked just off the track near the entrance. They glanced inside and saw a man and woman in a state of undress. Leon asked the couple to leave, saying if they didn't, he would be back with a camera. The brothers returned 10 minutes later and they were still there. "Leon got out and Christopher started taking photographs," said Mr Speak. "A male voice from inside the vehicle shouted 'I'm going to kill you' and then both brothers got back into the pick up in order to leave." Leon started driving off towards the farm. He was travelling at about 40 mph and within a few seconds the Jaguar was right behind them. The court heard that Battle was tail-gating the car, no more than two feet behind it, along the country road. Mr Speak said: "It is at that point, Leon says, he applied his brakes to slow down for the bend and felt being hit from behind by the Jaguar. As to how many times that happened he could not recall exactly, because he was concentrating on driving. "Certainly when he felt the impact on the last time, the rear of his pick-up spun to the right, causing a 180 degree spin, and then his vehicle flipped onto the passenger side just off the road." The twins scrambled out and Battle flagged down a passing car to take the woman away before attacking Leon. The court heard how police and an ambulance were called and Battle told one officer he had been having sex with a married women in the car when the next thing he knew, two lads were taking photos. He said: "I chased them to get the camera back." He claimed their vehicle stopped suddenly and he had run into the back of them. The court heard Battle had 68 previous convictions, which began when he was just 12 years old. He was convicted of armed robbery in 1992 and sent to prison for 10 years. Selwyn Shapiro, defending, told the court Battle had a stupid and hot-headed idea that he could somehow recover the camera. "The crime was a symptom or a symbol of this rash, hot-headed action brought about by embarrassment and being caught out in this rather difficult situation." Mr Shapiro told the court his client, a father-of- three who was married at the time, now had a new partner who was expecting his baby. Judge Peter Testar said: "I regard this as a bad example of dangerous driving. It is apparent from the evidence these young men were trying to get away from you because they were frightened. "You were not prepared to take no for an answer in relation to this camera." "Quite how dangerous your driving was is revealed by what happend to the vehicles. The pick-up truck turned over and the cab of that truck completely collapsed. "You are actually very lucky that you are not facing punishment for a case of death by dangerous driving. "You were driving as close as you were in a big heavy Jaguar, which was likely to cause serious damage in the event of an impact, and you were driving it without insurance." Judge Testar sentenced Battle to nine months for dangerous driving and one month consecutive for the common assault. He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended test before regaining his licence.
