A SHOCKING video has emerged of a councilor being dragged by his hair and lifted by his belt by an angry airport owner.
Chris Makin, 65, was ordered to pay £8,000 for assaulting Andrew Mason, 63, who said he feared he would be killed in the attack.
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The footage showed Andrew sitting on a road in front of a cherry picker who was cutting down trees before Makin grabbed him by the arm. hair and attempted to drag him out of the vehicle’s path.
Andrew managed to free himself from Makin’s grip and shouted “get off me” as Chris pulled the councilor along the ground by his leg – then his arm and then his belt – but was unable to move him.
Makin backed up and appeared to ask the vehicle operator to “move it forward” to where Andrew was in the road.
Andrew said he feared he would be killed by the machines.
When the vehicle did not move forward, Makin approached Andrew once again and pushed him as Andrew said, “Get off of me, you ignorant man. Get off of me.”
“The police are on the way, you lunatic.”
The video ended with Andrew still sitting on the ground in front of the vehicle, leaning against a tire.
Harrogate Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday that Andrew was walking to the village shop in Church Fenton, North Yorkshire, for a volunteering shift on April 4, when he spotted Makin and some contractors working on trees on the border of the Airport Leeds East.
Andrew is said to have become concerned that there were birds nesting in the trees and told Makin he did not have consent to cut down the trees or close the road.
The councilor “protested” the illegal felling of trees by positioning himself in front of the cherry picker.
It was then that Makin launched his attack, dragging Andrew across the road by his hair and belt, pinning him over his head, breaking his glasses and tearing his clothes, the court heard.
Andrew – who claimed he and Makin only knew each other “vaguely” before the incident – said he also suffered muscle injuries.
The workers were not involved in the violent altercation.
Andrew told the court that Makin was “out of control”, adding: “This was a profound injustice that happened in a village that I love.
“I feared more brutalization.”
Makin has owned the former RAF Church Fenton base since 2016 and believed he had “legal justification” to crown the trees in his charge to “make the airport a safe environment”, the court was told.
The airport’s owner said he was tending to the trees ahead of a vintage air show the venue was holding, in line with Civil Aviation Authority regulations.
His lawyer said he only closed the road because it was a “windy” day and the birds’ nests in the trees were empty.
Makin was “not a criminal”, said the lawyer, but a man who “is used to receiving jobs I did it and I did a job, but I did it the wrong way.”
Makin, from Micklefield, was found guilty of assault by beating and was ordered to pay more than £8,000 in fines, costs and compensation to Andrew.
The airport owner had no previous convictions and the court ruled that he had “learned a lesson” from the loss of his good reputation.
Outside court, Andrew said: “Justice has been done. Civil society collapsed that day.
“Makin is now a convicted felon and has lost his good name.”
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