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A police officer has won more than £400,000 compensation after being branded a "laughing stock" for using a truncheon to smash a pensioner's car window.

Pc Mike Baillon, 42, quit his job after becoming the butt of jokes from fellow officers over a YouTube video of him battering the Range Rover of a 74-year-old driver.

The video of Pc Baillon wielding his truncheon became a YouTube sensation - with an employment tribunal being told it has been viewed online thousands of times.

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The tribunal in Cardiff heard Pc Baillon walked out of his job after being ridiculed every day by his colleagues at the police station where he worked.

He sued police chiefs for constructive dismissal after being relieved of carrying out frontline duties.

The experienced officer claimed damages for allegedly being bullied by fellow officers.

He has been awarded £429,434.64 for loss of pension had he stayed in the force until the end of his career.

Mr Baillon will also receive in the region of £10,000 for loss of earnings since leaving the force.

Former traffic officer PC Baillon told the tribunal: "The ridicule from colleagues was getting to me - it was every single day.

"They thought I had done wrong and I was lucky to have got away with it. I just wanted my closure."

Pc Baillon was one of two police officers chasing disabled pensioner Robert Whatley as he drove along country roads without a seatbelt near Usk.

Elderly stroke victim Mr Whatley was pulled over in his black Range Rover - and expected the officers to gently knock on his window.

But instead Pc Baillon attacked his window with a baton 15 times while his colleague climbed onto the bonnet and kicked in the windscreen of the £60,000 car.

The two officers were later cleared of misconduct after an internal investigation but Pc Baillon was later removed from frontline duties.

The tribunal in Cardiff heard Pc Baillon's colleagues often brought up the "Whatley incident".

After another incident where police forced an entry by smashing a door a colleague allegedly told him: "It wasn't a window."

Pc Baillon also told the tribunal that his locker at work was defaced over the "Whatley incident" and that he became a "laughing stock."

The experienced officer finally took sick leave for stress and wrote letters of complaint to the Gwent Police Authority.

Former police Supt James Baker explained to the tribunal that Pc Baillon was taken off front-line duties because his mental state could have impaired his ability to respond to high-speed chases.

His solicitor Nick Smith criticised the Gwent police force.

He said: "Mr Baillon was removed from a job he loved and it was a gross abuse of power by the police.

"What has made that worse is the disingenuous way the force has defended their actions. Their conduct has been reprehensible. It is a public disgrace."

Mr Baillon said later: "I would rather be driving police cars but I couldn't accept the treatment.

"Unfortunately it has taken so long to reach a settlement."

After leaving the force, Mr Baillon set up a company called Celtic Woodcraft making decorative wooden reindeer.

Mr Whatley has previously won a £20,000 payout from the police over the damage caused to his Range Rover.

He was later ordered to pay £235 after being found guilty of speeding and failing to stop for police.

Words and picture: Wales News Service