AN HGV driver was told to get out of his vehicle and take “a kicking” by the boss of a Prestonpans building company who climbed up to his cab to challenge him to a fight.

Alexander McLeod drove on the wrong side of the road and pulled up in front of the large truck before getting out of his car and demanding driver Colin Holmes fight with him.

McLeod shouted, “You f***ing a***hole” at the man. He then yelled: “Get out, I’m going to give you a kicking” during the incident at Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh.

McLeod, of Suthren Yett, claimed that the truck driver had collided with his car and driven away moments before he decided to chase after the lorry.

The 47-year-old building firm owner appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where he admitted two charges committed during the road rage incident.

Solicitor Colm Dempsey told the court that his client had four children and employed two full-time workers at his building firm.

Mr Dempsey said that McLeod had become irate after a piece of plant machinery on the back of the truck had struck McLeod’s car as they both negotiated road works at Willowbrae.

He said McLeod thought the driver had failed to notice the collision and then “made the stupid decision to stop in front of the vehicle”.

Mr Dempsey said that the damage to his client’s car had been about £1,800 and admitted: “He is too old to be behaving like this.”

The solicitor pleaded with Sheriff John Cook not to ban McLeod, who already had six penalty points on his licence, from driving as this would affect his livelihood.

Sheriff Cook agreed and sentenced McLeod to a £1,300 fine and placed five penalty points on his licence.

McLeod admitted driving on the opposite carriageway, bringing a vehicle to a halt and causing it to perform an emergency stop at Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh, on October 8 last year. He also pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and challenging Colin Holmes to fight during the same incident.