A Milford man charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously after being involved in a showdown with another local man to ‘sort out their differences’ will appear at Swansea Crown Court next month.
Forty-year-old Ian King, of Dewsland Street, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to a charge of driving his VW Golf dangerously on Marble Hall Road on September 26.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that the background of the incident which was partly captured on CCTV had seen Mr. King and another local man Wayne Whatling agree to meet alongside the local football pitch to ‘have a fight’.
“The other man in question Mr. Whatling who should also really have been dealt with here today in court, but will appear at another date,” explained Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
The court heard that Mr. Whatling attended first at the side of the road next to the football club’s premises where he is alleged to be in possession of a baseball bat and when Mr. King turns up in his car to sort out an argument between the pair, the other male is alleged to have started smashing the car’s windscreen with the bat.
“It’s not then entirely clear what Mr. King is trying to achieve in his car as he appears to be attempting to hit the other male with his car when driving around the car park,” Mr. Pritchard-Jones told magistrates.
“The second part of the incident sees Mr. King driving out of the car park at speed and onto the main road driving like an idiot and narrowly missing another vehicle passing.
“As you can see from the CCTV footage, the blue car that passes has to pull over or Mr. King’s car would have had a head on collision with it.
“Afterwards Mr. King deliberately drives his car into the back of the car of the other male he had been arguing with which is parked on the side of the road, where there is a young woman and a child standing nearby.
“Fortunately he didn’t hit the car hard enough to forcibly move it, but who knows what could have happened as he was driving in such a rage,” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
Magistrates were shown the CCTV footage of the incident, which went onto further show the two males approach each other on the roadway.
“Fortunately they then separated before coming to blows - so I don’t know if they both realised they had bitten off more than they could chew,” he added.
Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told the court that there was no ‘deliberate’ chasing of the other male by Mr. King in his vehicle, and he was simply trying to drive out of the way and exit the car park.
Magistrates elected to send the case to Swansea Crown Court stating that their powers of sentencing were not sufficient for such a serious charge.
Mr. King who was released on conditional bail - with orders not to contact directly or indirectly Wayne Whatling; and not to enter Prescelly Place and Marble Hall Road in Milford Haven, was told to appear at Swansea Crown Court on December 2 for a further hearing.