A cyclist has been jailed for six weeks after unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade on a mother with a newborn baby and her dog on a Bournemouth beach promenade. Peter Abbott, 62, was caught on video screaming abuse at the woman and a passerby during the incident on December 3, 2024, at Alum Chine beach.
The court heard that Abbott struck the woman's dog with his bike as he cycled along, then got off and began shouting and swearing at her. He told a member of the public: “Shut the f*** up or I’ll kick you up the arse,” and challenged another man to a fight, calling him a “weed”. The victim said she was “terrified” and that Abbott’s behaviour exhibited “pure rage”.
At the time of the beach incident, Abbott was serving a suspended prison sentence for a previous road rage attack on a female motorist in a Tesco car park in August 2023. In that incident, he banged on her car windscreen and called her a “f***ing tart”, “bitch” and “whore”. He was sentenced in May 2024 to an anger management course.
Prosecutor Laura Lohk said Abbott was cycling behind the woman before hitting her dog, which she said was under control. Defence solicitor Katherine Toth argued that the dog had run in front of Abbott’s wheel, and that he only swore when approached by an intimidating member of the public. Abbott accepted he should have cycled on and regretted his actions.
District Judge Orla Austin described the incident as “another episode of rage taken out on the public” and jailed Abbott for six weeks for breaching the suspended sentence. Abbott had been banned from driving, which is why he was cycling.
