Driver, 70, 'murdered a pensioner in a fit of road rage after climbing out of his car to punch and kick his victim who was walking across a zebra crossing' 

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A 70-year-old motorist murdered a pensioner during a fit of rage after climbing out of his car and punching and kicking him, a court heard today.

Odysseas Vafiadis was said to have been driving his grandson in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, when he stopped near a zebra crossing to let Paul Davidson pass.

The pair allegedly exchanged words thanks to a combination of Vafiadis’s driving and Mr Davidson’s ‘ambling’ on the crossing, before the defendant attacked him. 

Trial: Odysseas Vafiadis (left) was said to have been driving his grandson in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, when he stopped near a zebra crossing to let Paul Davidson (right) pass

Doctors did not initially diagnose 69-year-old Mr Davidson with any broken bones but his partner then noticed ‘enormous’ bruising on his back, the jury was told.

The court heard that after returning from walking his dog, Mr Davidson vomited and collapsed - dying from four broken ribs that punctured his lungs and abdomen.

Vafiadis, who walked into the dock at Reading Crown Court with the aid of a walking stick, denies both one count of murder and one count of manslaughter.

Prosecuting the grandfather, Ian Hope told jurors he was arrested on the same day Mr Davidson died and claimed he retaliated violently in self-defence.

Mr Hope said: ‘On Friday November 6 of last year Mr Vafiadis was with his 15-year-old grandson Luca at Chalfont Leisure Centre, something he did regularly.

‘He ended up taking him there at 7.30pm and waited for Luca’s class to finish and they then left. The intention was to drive Luca home.

'He headed down the hill in his white Skoda Yeti. He travelled from the leisure centre towards the high street and, at 8.54pm, was approaching the zebra crossing.

‘On the same date before 9pm Paul Davidson was at a fast food restaurant and had spent several hours at the White Hart hotel with his partner Nicola Ferguson.

‘The defendant and Mr Davidson had never met and the first time Mr Vafiadis ever set eyes on Mr Davidson was as he drove towards the zebra crossing.’

A combination of Vafiadis’s driving and Mr Davidson’s ‘ambling’ on the zebra crossing led to an exchange of words before Vafiadis landed a number of punches and kicks during the one minute and 45 seconds of rage, the court was told.

Vafiadis (pictured today) walked into Reading Crown Court with the aid of a walking stick, denies both murder and manslaughter

Mr Hope said: ‘It is quite clear to the prosecution Mr Vafiadis lost his temper.

‘Mr Vafiadis got out of his vehicle and approached Mr Davidson. He launched an assault on him with his fists, his feet and then his fists again.

‘Mr Davidson’s partner, Nicola Ferguson, made a statement where she said Mr Vafiadis repeatedly kicked Mr Davidson as he was on the floor.

‘Various members of the public saw portions of this incident.

‘One witness said that when she got there Mr Davidson was on the floor holding on tight to the driver’s jumper shouting “call the police”.’

Another witness described seeing a man being lifted from the floor and being slammed onto the pavement like someone would slam a basketball into a net.

Mr Hope continued: ‘The incident lasted just short of two minutes and Mr Vafiadis left the scene in his Skoda with his grandson in the passenger seat.

‘It was clear Mr Davidson sustained cuts and bruises to the face, head and arms and complained of pain in the kidneys and problems with breathing.

‘Members of the public said he lost colour and concerns at the scene were raised as to whether he sustained broken ribs.

‘A paramedic noticed marks on his back and he was taken to hospital. Mr Davidson wished to go home as soon as he could but Nicola Ferguson wanted him to stay at the hospital.

‘On November 7 he returned home and following a couple of days he was clearly in some pain and the bruising grew. His partner described it as enormous.

‘He had difficulty sleeping and was wheezing a lot. He took the dog on a short walk. He vomited on his return and his partner followed him after hearing a crashing sound.

‘He lost all colour to the face and she called the ambulance. He communicated with paramedics and told them he had been assaulted.

‘He had low blood pressure and medical staff were concerned they couldn’t hear air when he was exhaling.’

Vafiadis, of Gerard’s Cross, inflicted numerous rib fractures which led to a number of complications including haemopneumothorax, the jury was told.

Hearing: Reading Crown Court (pictured) was told that Mr Davidson vomited and collapsed - dying from four broken ribs that punctured his lungs and abdomen

Mr Hope added: ‘When Mr Vafiadis was arrested he told police Mr Davidson approached his window and he called him an idiot.

‘He said the male grabbed him around the neck and still had a mark. He said he punched the male in the face once with force. He also said he heard the male’s head go “clunk” on the floor.’

The jury heard Mr Davidson branded Vafiadis ‘a w*****’ seconds before he was brutally attacked and relentlessly kicked while laying helplessly on the ground.

Vafiadis allegedly came within feet of knocking over Mr Davidson when he sprinted from his car and wrapped his hand around his neck and punched him.

The victim's partner of 15 years, Nicola Ferguson, described Vafiadis as being ‘hellbent on kicking him’ as Mr Davidson collapsed on the pavement outside a greengrocer’s store in Chalfont St Peter at about 9pm on November 6.

The 69-year-old was allegedly labelled an ‘old g**’ and told police he punched Vafiadis in the testicles in a bid to stop the assault which happened as he made his way home from the White Hart pub.

Mr Davidson had been drinking with 57-year-old Mrs Ferguson and had three glasses of red wine when he left and bought a kebab.

Two days before his death he told police: ‘I was walking ahead of my partner and I walked to the zebra crossing. I looked up the hill and I saw a car coming down the hill but it was a long way off.

‘By the time I was in the middle of the road the car was approaching at speed. It was a white Skoda Yeti and it stopped very suddenly in the line.

‘I didn't think it was going to stop. I was nervous. I thought I was going to get hit by the car.

‘I made a rude gesture and called him a “w*****” and I walked to the other side of the road. The driver got out of the car and said something like “old g**" to me.’

Mr Davidson described the driver as looking angry and told police he got out of the car and ran towards him on the other side of the zebra crossing.

He said: ‘He pushed me over with both hands and kicked me so I punched him in the testicles and he fell on top of me and I grabbed his jumper.

‘I shouted “someone call the police”. I then let go of him and he got back into his car and drove off at speed towards the market place.

‘I'm scared of being beaten up again. I'm 69 and nothing like this has ever happened before.’

Mr Davidson died three days after the attack when he returned home from walking his dog Daisy, vomiting and collapsing.

Mrs Ferguson said they would regularly meet fellow animal-loving friends at the pub where they drank red wine before leaving.

She told jurors: ‘He was walking, holding a takeaway. I saw him walk towards the zebra crossing going up the hill.

‘I glanced to the left and I saw what I perceived to be a four-wheel drive white vehicle driving at what I would call an excessive speed.

‘I thought what is this person doing at such an alarming speed and I thought this person was going to run Paul over.

‘The car stopped eventually. It almost touched Paul's jacket. I was terrified. At that stage the car had stopped and there were two other vehicles behind it.

‘Paul was virtually in the middle of the zebra crossing. If he did hit him he would have taken half of him out.’

Mrs Ferguson revealed that she saw the driver ‘sprint’ to the other side where Mr Davidson was standing and grabbed him round the neck and threw a punch.

She said: ‘Paul collapsed on the floor by the greengrocers. The driver, when Paul was on the floor, relentlessly and repeatedly kicked him.

‘It wasn't like two guys having a punch up. He was hellbent on kicking Paul.’

Mrs Ferguson said if she did not have her dog with her she would have gone over to try to stop the assault.

She said: ‘He was kicking Paul in the side and it wasn't just one blow. The kicking didn't stop. I thought “do I go over there?” and I went through all my options.

‘If I didn't have the young dog on me I would have gone over there. The man was completely out of control. What's to stop him from hitting me?’ 

The trial continues.