A gang of “nice boys” punched, kicked and beat a motorist with a stick after he remonstrated with them for throwing an egg at his car. Mitesh Parikh was being driven through Radlett by his wife on his way home from a night out, when his car was hit with an egg.

Mr Parikh got out to investigate and was confronted by four teenagers.

Gail Marriner, prosecuting, said on Sunday, March 30, as the car travelled along Watford Road, Radlett, something struck the window.

Mr Parikh could not see who had done it and returned to the car. On hearing laugher he went back and found a teenage boy standing on a driveway.

When he asked what was going on Mr Parikh was pushed and he pushed the teenager back.

It was then Mr Parikh saw three other youths lurking in the shadows, one holding a stick.

He was asked if he wanted to fight and said he did not. But Mr Parikh was chased across the road before he was “encircled” by the four males.

He was punched to the ground and kicked to the head by the three of them - two aged 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons - and 19-year-old Craig Draper, of Bittersea Rise, Mill Hill.

Another 17-year-old, currently serving a custodial sentence for possession of a bladed weapon and assault, who also cannot be named, was seen by Mr Parikh’s wife beating her husband on the floor with the stick as he tried to protect himself.

Mrs Parikh described how the youth took his shirt off as a sign of machismo and her husband looking scared trying to cover his head on the floor.

Draper and two other defendants, including a boy from Radlett, were given community orders at Dacorum Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to assault and criminal damage.

Alice Jarratt - representing the fourth defendant who admitted wielding the stick and pleaded guilty to assault - on Tuesday, pointed out her client had initially acted in self defence after Mr Parikh had become aggressive. However, she conceded he had gone too far in beating Mr Parikh on the ground.

In mitigation she said the 17-year-old had ten GCSEs and four AS levels but had gone wayward this year after never being in trouble before.

The four defendants had been described as “all nice boys” that had got in trouble, and no-one could say why.

Chairman of the bench Arthur Cushway imposed a four-month custodial sentence, to run at the same time as the one being served.

Mr Cushway said: “This was a group exercise and in your case there was a weapon and quite serious injuries were caused.”