Driver Branded ‘Complete Menace’ Gets 18 Months for Crashes

A rogue driver has been slammed by a judge as a “complete menace behind the wheel” after causing two crashes in the Blackwood area.

Craig Searles, 40, was jailed for 18 months after admitting causing serious injury by careless driving and drug driving. The defendant committed the second offence whilst subject to a suspended prison sentence for growing cannabis worth £75,000.

His first driving offence occurred on April Fools’ Day 2023 when he ploughed into a grandmother and her passenger with his BMW 118d whilst speeding at a roundabout in Pontllanfraith. He then fled the scene after abandoning his car. The driver sustained a fractured rib and whiplash injuries, with her passenger also suffering whiplash.

The second crash happened when Searles, high on drugs, smashed into a van whilst driving a Fiat Punto in Cefn Fforest on 8th August last year. He had a cocaine derivative in his blood at the time.

Defence barrister Kirsten Murphy told Cardiff Crown Court her client was “entirely realistic that he will be receiving an immediate custodial sentence” and was “desperate to get his life back on track”. She said his class A drug use had been “out of control”.

Judge Paul Hobson told Searles, of Maes Y Garn Road, Oakdale: “You have an appalling driving record – you have been a complete menace behind the wheel. You have three previous convictions for dangerous driving as well as previous convictions for drink driving and driving whilst disqualified. On April 1, 2023, you caused serious injuries.”

Searles was banned from driving for 42 months and must sit an extended driving test. He will serve around 40 per cent of his sentence before potential release.