Driver sentenced after crashing into parked cars

Cars parked near the Co-op in Earls Colne were damaged in the crash

A man who drove on the wrong side of the road, mounted the pavement and then smashed into parked cars has been sentenced.

Henry Griffiths' car struck a post, launching it into the air before crashing down on to the cars outside the Co-op shop in Earls Colne, Essex in April 2023.

Griffiths, of Stoke-by-Nayland near Colchester, admitted dangerous driving and was sentenced to a 12-month community order at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Addressing Griffiths, Recorder Simon Denison KC said: "For some reason it is as if you blacked out at the wheel."

'Momentarily distracted'

Kellina Gannon, prosecuting, said the 23-year-old was seen driving his Volkswagen Golf on the wrong side of the road on High Street towards Halstead for 39m (127ft) on 30 April 2023.

Griffiths was banned from driving for two years during the hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court

"There had been a deliberate swerve with no other vehicle or object to explain why," Ms Gannon said.

Griffiths, of Scotland Street in the Suffolk village, told the Probation Service he had started thinking about his deceased grandfather and became "momentarily distracted", the court heard.

Mr Denison banned Griffiths from driving for two years and ordered him to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work.