A road rage thug who stopped his car on the outside lane of the M6 so he could attack another driver has been jailed.
Sean Campbell, 36, admitted assaulting the motorist and causing criminal damage during the rush hour incident on the motorway near Warrington in August last year.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how he had been weaving in and out of heavy traffic and undertaking other vehicles in his Mercedes when his driving angered the victim, who was driving with his wife.
Campbell, from Ellesmere Port, started to drive close up behind the couple at around 60mph as they approached Croft Interchange, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The motorist thought Campbell wanted him to move over into lane three, but he couldn't because of other cars in the way, the court heard.
Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said the victim became "very irate" and began swearing and gesturing at Campbell.
Dash cam footage shown in court showed him yelling "f*** off you p***k" and"f**ing w***er" at Campbell as he is undertaken.
Campbell then pulled in front of the car and braked.
The victim flashed his beams before Campbell stopped his car and got out, the court heard.
The victim, who feared there would be a pile-up, beeped his horn and shouted "get a f***ing move on, you're on a motorway", but Campbell was screaming at him to get out of his car, Ms Baqri said.
The victim described feeling terrified and fearing that he would harm him and his wife.
Campbell tried to prod the man's face through his open window and his wife pretended to film him on her phone, but he lunged into the car to grab the device.
He then punched him twice in the face, causing the victim's glasses to fly off.
Campbell walked away but the man "blasted his horn" prompting his attacker to turnaround, the court heard.
Ms Baqri said Campbell then launched a "karate style kick" at the wing mirror, breaking the plastic surround and causing it to collapse inward.
The victim told his wife to call the police and Campbell was arrested at around 5.20pm on August 12.
Ms Baqri told the court that Campbell "saw red", adding that "he knew stopping on the outside lane was dangerous".
She said the defendant accepted having "a scuffle" but the incident showed "a deliberate and complete disregard for the safety of others, on one of the busiest roads in the country".
The victim, said the incident "changed him totally as a person" and he was no longer confident on the road.
"Every time he is behind the wheel of a car he cannot think about anything other than this attack, by what he describes as an almost possessed man," Ms Baqri told the court.
The man's wife told police she was "absolutely terrified" and it was "totally unprovoked".
Campbell admitted criminal damage and common assault but denied dangerous driving, only to plead guilty ahead of a trial.
The court heard that he has seven previous convictions for 11 offences including harassment, indecent exposure and threatening behaviour.
Peter Barnett, defending, said the victim was driving at a speed at which three other cars also undertook him.
Campbell was jailed for nine months and banned from driving for two years and four months.
Mr Barnett said by losing his licence Campbell would lose his job as a HGV driver.
He told the court Campbell had been working night shifts and was suffering from a "lack of sleep" and "inconsistency with work", describing him as being "frazzled" on the day of the incident.
Mr Barnett said his client couldn't explain why he acted "out of character" and lost his temper, and stopping on the M6 was "clearly dangerous".
Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, told Campbell he "drove in an appalling manner" on a "heavily congested stretch" of the motorway and that he can be seen on footage 'weaving between lanes, undertaking'.
He added: "Anyone who drives regularly on the motorway networks of this country will at one time or another have witnessed driving similar to what I've seen on that dashcam footage.
"It's dangerous, it puts pressure on other drivers and it has the potential to cause them to drive badly as a response."
Judge Flewitt accepted jailing Campbell would have a harmful effect on his family, but said: "I would be failing in my public duty if I didn't reflect this appalling conduct with an immediate sentence of imprisonment."
