Kirkby man jailed for driving van into his '˜friend' after row over cigarette

The victim was flung into the air by the force of the impact before landing in a hedge.

He was taken to hospital in a critical condition and was put into a medically induced coma with swelling to the brain. He also suffered a fractured eye socket and broken leg. He had to have surgery on his right eye socket and lost vision in his right eye, and had metal plates fitted to his cheekbone and leg.

Louis Timms, 25, of Sutton Road, Kirkby, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving on the second day of a trial at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday (August 23).

The court heard Timms had been out with the victim and two other friends at the Snipe pub, Sutton, before the incident in Kingsway, Kirkby, at about 11.35pm on Sunday, February 19 this year.

Timms had driven the group to the pub and after leaving he dropped one man off in Kirkby. He was then taking the victim home when he lit a cigarette in his Citroen Berlingo, sending Timms into a rage.

Timms got out of the van and tried to attack the man but he ran off, so Timms got back into the vehicle and drove towards him.

CCTV shows he initially swerved towards the man but he managed to step out of the way. Timms then carried out a U-turn and drove back on the wrong side of the road before striking the man with the van and speeding off towards Kirkby town centre.

Police Constable Mark Dickson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Timms left his so-called friend for dead after this devastating and cowardly attack using a vehicle to cause serious injury.

“The victim has been left with life-changing injuries and will never be able to forget the horror of that night. I just hope this sentence gives him some comfort as Timms will now have a long time behind bars to think about the consequences of his actions.”

Timms was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and banned from driving for 75 months by the judge, who took into account his guilty plea but added that the sentence was at the maximum possible level because it was a deliberate act.