Royal gamekeeper 'battered motorist with stick' at Sandringham, shouting 'mind my dogs, you f****** peasant'

A motorist has alleged he was attacked by a stick-wielding pheasant shooter near the royals’ Sandringham Estate.

Patrick Panks, 43, claims he was left needing hospital treatment after the man, who he says was a "royal gamekeeper", hit him and called him a “peasant”.

The engineer claimed he had just turned a corner on a country road when he saw a man and about six dogs blocking his path and had to stop.

“I wound down the window and before I could say anything he shouted, 'Mind my dogs you f****** peasant',” Mr Panks told The Sun.

He said the "gamekeeper", who he described as dressed in tweed and carrying two dead birds that looked like pheasants, eventually moved off the road with his dogs.

But the motorist claims as he walked back to his car, he felt a “heavy thud” on the back of his head and blood trickling down his neck.

Mr Panks alleges the man hit him on his head, forearm, wrist and shoulders with a stick “like a man possessed”, leaving him with cuts that needed hospital treatment.

Norfolk Police confirmed it was called to the incident in Shernborne Road, Dersingham, at about 3pm on Saturday.

However, a spokeswoman said since neither Mr Panks nor the other man had made a formal complaint there had been no further police action.

She told The Independent: “A crime report has been created and officers have spoken to both parties, however neither has made a formal complaint at this stage.”

Buckingham Palace said it would not be commenting on “the police matter”.

The alleged exchange between the men is said to have taken place just two days after Prince Philip was involved in a crash while heading back to Sandringham Estate.

The Duke of Edinburgh collided with a Kia car carrying two women and a baby near the junction of the B1439 and the A149 on Thursday.

The force of the crash flipped over the Land Rover Freelander the 97-year-old royal was driving and left the Kia badly damaged.

Emma Fairweather, 46, a passenger in the other car, was left with a broken wrist after the collision.

She has since publicly made claims that Philip has not tried to contact her personally to apologise.

However, Buckingham Palace said the duke exchanged “well wishes” with her.

Ms Fairweather branded the duke “highly insensitive and inconsiderate” during an interview on ITV’s This Morning after he was pictured driving without a seatbelt on a public road just two days after the crash.

Norfolk Police told The Independent it was continuing its investigation into the crash on Tuesday.

Officers have also spoken to Prince Philip about the legal requirement to wear a seatbelt and the duke had an eyesight test, which he passed.