A STALYBRIDGE man who bit the face of a tram inspector when he was asked to show he had a ticket in an ‘abhorrent’ incident has been jailed.
Jordan Halliday launched into the attack after being approached at Audenshaw tram stop on Friday, September 3.
Now the 39-year-old, of Ridge Hill Lane, is serving a four month jail sentence for his vicious actions.
Halliday pleaded guilty to Section 4 Public Order and Common Assault when he appeared at Tameside Magistrates Court.
Police received a report of violent assault against a Metrolink employee at the Metrolink stop, which lies close to Ryecroft Hall.
Following enquiries it was established Halliday had become aggressive with the employee after being challenged for proof of his fare.
It was after this he became violent and repeatedly assaulted the man, causing multiple injuries.
As well as being locked up for 16 weeks, Halliday was ordered to pay £150 victim compensation and Greater Manchester Police welcomed the sentence.
Constable Damian Warner of the force’s Transport Unit said: “This was an abhorrent assault on a man who was simply doing his job and nobody should face the threat or fear of violence in their workplace.
“Thankfully we were able to identify the man responsible which led to the arrest and charge of Halliday.
“He will now spend the next few months behind bars where he’ll have plenty of time to consider his heinous actions.”
Danny Vaughan, head of Metrolink at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “This was an appalling attack on a hardworking Metrolink employee who was simply doing his job.
“I have spoken to the staff member, who has relayed his thanks to the police officer dealing with the case for going ‘beyond the call of duty’ to help him.
“We welcome the custodial sentence, and we are also pushing for this individual to be banned from the Metrolink network.
“I hope this case will act as a strong warning and deterrent to others who think such senseless behaviour will be tolerated on our network.”