A FATHER and son from Weymouth have been found guilty of affray following a violent confrontation where a man was hit on the head with a baseball bat in Dorchester.

Matthew Coltart, 45, and Damien Coltart, 20, of Carlton Road North in Weymouth, appeared at Dorchester Crown Court in relation to an incident on September 19, 2013, on Windsor Road near the junction with Coburg Road in Dorchester, as reported in the Echo.

Philip John ‘PJ’ Walker, 38, was hit over the head by Damien Coltart during the attack and had to be treated in hospital for his injury.

Jodie Mittell, prosecuting, said Matthew’s daughter contacted him and alleged her boyfriend Oliver Walker had beaten her, so Matthew called Damien and picked him and some friends up in his white transit van to confront the alleged assailant.

Ms Mittell said the group went “mob-handed” with two baseball bats and a hammer to the couple’s shared flat in Dorchester, but there was no answer and they proceeded to his parents’ house in Windsor Road after collecting the girl’s belongings from the property.

She said after they arrived at the house in Windsor Road there was a heated argument between the two families during which the bats and hammer were held by the accused.

She added during the argument Matthew Coltart swore at Oliver Walker’s father Philip Walker Senior and told him to give him “five minutes” with Oliver.

Oliver’s brother PJ Walker told the court: “I told Matthew to put the bat down to talk about what was going on and that’s when I felt a hit to the top of my head.”

PJ, pictured left, said he didn’t see who or what had hit him but the blow caused him to fall to his knees.

Two school pupils described their “shock” at witnessing the incident while waiting for buses on Coburg Road opposite Windsor Road.

Both saw three men in a transit van and said a man was hit over the head.

One witness, 16, told the court: “[The hit] was really loud because I could hear it from where I was. I was quite scared to be honest because you wouldn’t really expect it to happen in Dorchester. It makes you feel a bit unsafe.”

Defending, Timothy Shorter and Jamie Porter said there had been no weapons and no attack, and said the defendants had nothing to do with PJ’s injuries.

In court, Matthew Coltart said there were several hammers in his van because the family travel to motorcross events and make repairs to vehicles.

Damien Coltart told the court he “wasn’t 100 per cent sure” on details of the incident as he suffers from Aspergers.

Cross-examining, Ms Mittell asked Damien why, after his arrest, he banged on his police cell door and said “I want to admit to causing the assault.”

Damien said he thought the offence in question related to a separate incident and hadn’t been listening to the custody sergeant tell him the details of the offence.

A jury found both Damien and Matthew guilty of affray after over five hours’ deliberation.

A teenager was also charged with affray but was cleared after the jury failed to reach a verdict, and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue matters further.

Damien and Matthew Coltart will be sentenced at a later date.