A VETERAN Labour councillor who knocked a phone out of a blogger's hand while passing a noisy protest as he headed into a meeting has admitted a charge of assault by beating.

Sandwell Council member Steve Melia, aged 75, admitted the offence at Dudley Magistrates' Court on Thursday and was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge.

Opening the facts of the case, prosecutor Karen Cockitt said blogger Julian Saunders reported a dull ache to his hand but no bruising after the incident on December 7 last year.

She told the court Mr Saunders, whose phone suffered a small chip to its screen, had written blogs about Sandwell Council since 2013.

The prosecutor added: "As part of that work he regularly stands outside of Oldbury Council House before council meetings in order to question councillors heading into those meetings."

The assault, which took place as Mr Saunders was filming, coincided with a demonstration about the fate of a local golf course, the court heard.

Defence solicitor Sheila Hicklin said retired electrical engineer Melia - the chair of several local bodies including the Sandwell area armed forces and veterans parade committee - had been subjected to abusive comments on a daily basis outside the council's offices.

Ms Hicklin told the court: "On this particular day when this incident occurred, it's correct to say Mr Melia was going to the full council meeting.

"He accepts he went over the top. He did strike the phone out of Mr Saunders's hand."

Passing sentence, Deputy District Judge Bal Dhaliwal said there had been no justification for the comments made towards the councillor.

Ordering Melia, of Friar Park, Wednesbury, West Midlands, to pay £200 in compensation and £130 towards the costs of the prosecution, the judge told him: "It's clear and in my view unfortunate that certain remarks were being made to you.

"It's clear to me that you reacted in the heat of the moment.

"Having said that your actions went well beyond what would have been acceptable in this set of circumstances."