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Company director jailed and wife fined for pushing cyclist off bike

A wealthy company director has been jailed for pushing a cyclist off an electric bike in a country park.

Paul Oliver, 49, and his wife Sarah, 45, were walking their dogs in Kenilworth Greenway Country Park in Warwickshire last June when a cyclist rode past them at about 12 mph.

Oliver shouted at the rider, Jaroslaw Zachwieja, telling him to “slow the f*** down” after he came within a few feet of them, prosecutor Gary Rutter told the court.

The couple, who were with their friend Lynnet Armstrong, 55, then continued their walk around the garden.

But minutes later they saw Zachwieja cycling towards them again.

This time as he rode past, Oliver shoved him off the bike.

Rutter said the victim felt “a massive blow” from Oliver to the right side of his body, knocking him off his bike and leaving him screaming in pain on the ground.

Paul Oliver, 49, was jailed for six months.
Paul Oliver, 49, has been jailed for six months. (SWNS)

Oliver also grabbed Zachwieja by his shoulders and lifted him off the ground before shoving him back down, the court heard.

Zachwieja suffered five smashed ribs and a broken shoulder blade as well as grazes to his body and face during the attack.

Oliver, who runs Capital Construction Ltd, fled the scene while his wife and Armstrong stayed with the victim, calling the emergency services

As Zachwieja was taken to hospital in an ambulance, the women told police officers he had been attacked by an unknown man who ran off.

Sarah Oliver (L) and Lynette Armstrong (R). (SWNS)
Sarah Oliver, left, and Lynette Armstrong, right. (SWNS)

But the victim later gave a statement in hospital, which pointed towards Oliver as the attacker.

Wife told officers: 'We shouldn't have lied'

Police then went to Oliver’s £600,000 home near Coventry where they confronted the couple.

His wife broke down in tears, telling officers: “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have lied.”

Oliver admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for six months at Warwick Crown Court on Monday.

Ian Speed, defending, said: “The injuries were totally not intended, and could have been partly caused by the speed [Zachwieja] was travelling at.

“If he had been almost stationary he would not have suffered such injury.”

Oliver’s wife and Armstrong were also charged with perverting the course of justice but admitted an alternative offence of assisting an offender.

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Both women were ordered to pay £1,200 in court costs.

Oliver’s wife was also fined £160 while Armstrong, of Coventry, was given a conditional discharge.

Recorder William Davis told Oliver: “Although it was not premeditated, it was a deliberate push which resulted in very serious injuries.

“Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by the imposition of an immediate sentence of imprisonment.”