Updated: Jail for Mansfield van driver who ran young biker over in mistaken belief he’d stolen the bike

John Gant’s victim was riding to visit a friend along Ladybrook Lane, in Mansfield, at 8pm on September 24, 2022, when Gant swerved across the white line and hit him, said prosecutor Lauren Fisher.

Gant jumped out and started shouting at him not to run off before loading the off-road bike, which now had twisted handlebars and buckled wheels, into his van.

The injured man was “extremely scared” and hid in a front garden but was later found by two men who forced him to accompany them, hopping on one leg, to Gant’s home on Brick Hill Lane.

An “angry and aggressive” Gant was waiting for him and told him he wouldn't get his motorbike back as he thought he had stolen it from his son.

The victim’s father was called and found his son in tears because of the “agonising pain”. Gant shook the father's hand and apologised.

X-rays revealed his right ankle was fractured and it still affected him 16 months later.

Nottingham Crown Court heard his ankle has since improved, but he was forced to sell the bike at a loss of £1,000 and described himself as “fearful” of seeing any of the men involved again.

Mark Sharman, mitigating, said Gant, of previous good character, was ashamed and feels “utterly wretched” for the impact on his victim's life.

“He is struggling to come to terms with it. It is not something he intended or wanted.

“In all other aspects he is an entirely law-abiding and hard-working citizen, said Mr Sharman. “This was entirely out of character for him.”

“He had watched those around him having bikes and motorbikes stolen with alarming regularity. Something clearly snapped.

"He has no experience of the criminal justice system.”

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday, April 4, at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC told the defendant: “What you did was so serious the court has to send you to custody so that you and everybody else understands that taking the law into your own hands can never be condoned or forgiven.”

Gant, aged 39, admitted dangerous driving and serious assault at a previous hearing, and was jailed for 21 months.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Amelia Hicklin, who led the investigation, said the attack has hand long-term implications for the victim.

She said: “By deciding to take the law into his own hands, Gant seriously injured an innocent person. His actions were despicable and I am pleased he has now been brought to justice.

“Although the incident happened two years ago, the victim’s injury still affects him physically and he is unable to carry out as many sporting activities as he used to. This unprovoked crime has had a profound effect on him and I hope he can draw some comfort from this outcome at court.”