A MAN who pushed a Nottingham tram conductor has been ordered to pay compensation and attend an anger management course.

Barrington Jackson, of St Paul's Avenue, Hyson Green, got on the tram at the Royal Centre and was talking on his phone when the tram conductor asked him for his ticket.

When Jackson told the conductor to wait because he was having a conversation, the conductor said he should either put the phone down or get off the tram.

Nottingham Magistrates Court heard that Jackson agreed to get off the tram at Hyson Green, but as he did so he pushed the conductor in the chest.

Elaine Oldham, prosecuting, said: "The conductor later said that it left him feeling quite frightened and vulnerable.

"He said he was carrying out his duty and didn't expect to be assaulted."

Unemployed Jackson, 45, had previously pleaded guilty to the assault, which took place at around 2.30pm on September 19 last year.

On Tuesday, he was ordered to attend a 22-week CALM course – Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage It – as part of a 15-month Community Order.

District Judge Morris Cooper also told Jackson to pay £50 compensation to the conductor and £150 in costs.

A previous 12 month suspended sentence imposed on Jackson for separate offences was also extended by three months.

Mr Cooper said Jackson had a history of "handling confrontational situations in a completely wrong way."

But he said he was sparing him a more serious punishment in part because the assault on the conductor involved a push, not a punch.

Julian Griffiths, defending, said that while Jackson had a history of "intemperate reactions" in certain situations, the defendant had "de-scaled" his offending.