A PARAMEDIC told a court how a drunken Mick Bates punched him in the chest while he was trying to treat him for head injuries.
Montgomeryshire AM Bates, 63, was strapped into a wheelchair inside an ambulance when the alleged incident took place.
Carl Jones, of the Wales Ambulance Service, said the Liberal Democrat politician winded him with a “heavy blow to the sternum”.
The alleged assault came soon after paramedics slid Bates down the stairs “on his buttocks” because he refused to move, and then lifted into a wheelchair, the court heard.
Bates, of Llanfair Caereinon - who has already confirmed he will not stand for re-election next year - is standing trial at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court this week accused of three counts of common assault by beating and a further three public order breaches.
The three people allegedly assaulted are two paramedics - Darren Noble and Carl Jones - and a University Hospital of Wales nurse, Claire Morris.
He denies all charges.
The court heard how Bates was at the Charleston Steak House Restaurant on Caroline Street, Cardiff, on January 20, when he fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a blow to his head.
South Wales Police were called to the scene and on arrival were approached by Craig Williams, a friend of Bates, who claimed the AM had been injured after suffering an assault.
PC Geraint White, PC Victoria Miller and PS Cameron went inside and found Bates, who smelt of alcohol, lying on a landing between two staircases, bleeding from the head.
Mr Williams described the man he claimed pushed Bates down the stairs to the police officers, but following a search of the premises no person matching the description given was found.
Cardiff paramedics Carl Jones and Darren Noble arrived shortly afterwards and found Bates slumped on the floor.
Speaking in court, Carl Jones said: “When we arrived at Charleston Restaurant I initially stood back and let Mr Noble exam Mr Bates, but Mr Bates told him (Darren) to f**k off.
“Mr Noble was trying to assess if there were head injuries but again Mr Bates was non-compliant and replied by flailing his arms about.
Bates continued to say “F*** off, I am not going to hospital” and neither Mr Noble nor Mr Jones were able to examine him.
The paramedics decided to take Bates to hospital but he “refused to stand-up” and they had to “take him down the stairs on his buttocks one step at time”.
Once at the bottom of the stairs Bates did calm down for a while, allowing the paramedics to get him out of the restaurant and into the ambulance. However, in the ambulance Bates became aggressive again, this time punching Carl Jones and grabbing hold of Darren Noble.
Mr Jones said he was preparing to take Bates’ blood pressure when he felt a tug on his clothing.
“I felt a tug on the fleece of my jacket and then a sharp blow to my sternum,” he said. "It came from the left hand of Mr Bates and his fist was closed.It happened so quickly, to be honest, all I felt was a tug and a dull thud.
“But it was a heavy blow which did wind me for a short period of time.”
Paramedic Jones said he immediately left the ambulance and reported what had happened to a PS Cameron.
PS Cameron entered the ambulance and told Bates to “calm down and go with the ambulance crew to hospital”.
Once the police sergeant had left the ambulance Mr Jones said he saw Bates grabbing hold of Mr Noble as he attempted to fasten his seat belt. “Mr Noble bent over Mr Bates to put the seatbelt back on him, but he grabbed Darren’s wrists and pulled him towards him," he said.
“Mr Noble then withdrew from the back of the vehicle and sat in the crew seat of the ambulance for his own personal safety.”
Bates was taken straight to the University Hospital of Wales but when he arrived he continued to protest.
“He was saying things like ‘there’s no need for me to be here’ and ‘I didn’t want to f**king come here’,” explained Mr Jones. “He was flailing his arms about and saying ‘I just want to get out and f**king leave.’”
It took four people to lift Bates onto a hospital bed and a further four security guards arrived to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the hospital staff and paramedics.
After initially claiming he had been assaulted, Bates corrected himself at the hospital and told police he had fallen down the stairs.
The case continues. To read the outcome of day two of AM Mick Bates’ three-day trial – where nurse Clare Morris will be giving evidence – log on to our website tomorrow.