ANGRY Gary Powell, 48, drove his car straight at a black colleague as he cycled to work near Stroud - forcing him to jump off his bike and run for cover, a court heard yesterday.

Powell drove over the workmate's fallen bike then stopped and got a metal bar from the boot of his car, Gloucester crown court was told.

He threatened Portuguese-born colleague Rui Ferreira with it, shouting foul mouthed racist abuse at him.

The incident happened on Aston Down airfield, near Stroud, where both men worked for TNT Fireworks, said prosecutor Janine Wood.

Powell had been unhappy about some aspect of Mr Ferreira's work and had complained to the management about him, she added.

Powell, of Queen street, Swindon Village, Cheltenham, admitted dangerous driving in his Citroen Picaso on October 13 last year and using racially hostile and threatening behaviour to a man from an ethnic minority.

Now working as a Cheltenham refuse bin collector, Powell was sentenced to eight months jail suspended for two years.

He was also banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £400 compensation to Mr Ferreira and costs of £250.

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Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he had not heard any satisfactory explanation for Powell's behaviour towards Mr Ferreira - but he noted that Powell had a previous conviction for similar racially motivated behaviour against another ethnic minority person on his record.

"I make it quite plain that had you actually driven your car at Mr Ferreira as a weapon while he was on his bicycle and hit him you would be to prison for as long as I could possibly send you," the judge said.

"As it is, he sensibly got off his bike and ran off.

“You were not content with that - you were so angry, for some reason or other, that you armed yourself from the boot of your car with a wheel brace and then shouted out the most insulting remarks that can be made to someone with a black skin.

“And it is not the first time you've done it."

Mrs Wood had told the judge that there was a 'problem' between the two men at work and on October 9 Powell criticised Mr Ferreira's work.

He said he would end up getting the sack because of Mr Ferreira's behaviour at work.

A manager at the fireworks plant heard Powell shouting at Mr Ferreira that day, calling him a derogatory racial word, and saying he was going to get a gang of blokes to “do him over”.

On October 13 Mr Ferreira was cycling across the old airfield on his way to work at 8am when he saw Powell driving straight at him at speed

"Mr Ferreira jumped off his bike and dropped it as he ran away. Mr Powell's car hit the bike. He then stopped his car and reversed," added Mrs Wood.

“He got out of his car with a metal bar and threatened Mr Ferreira, saying 'come on, come on, you mother f***ing n***er.

"Mr Ferreira was 20 metres away but was scared. He walked off through fields and telephoned his girlfriend, asking her to call the police. This was because his own English was not good enough for him to do so.

"Later Mr Ferreira saw Powell pick up his bike and then throw it to the ground."

Mrs Wood said Mr Ferreira had been affected by the incident and now had low morale and low self-esteem.

"I had lots of racial discrimination in my own country and never thought I would have to go through it again in this country," Mr Ferreira stated.

The court heard Powell has made 34 previous court appearances for 109 offences.

Jon Lynch, defending, said Powell had been 'extremely frustrated' by his line manager's refusal to address a problem between him and Mr Ferreira at work

"He left this employment as a result of this incident and now works as a refuse collector for Cheltenham Borough Council earning £250 a week take home," Mr Lynch added.