John Lamont (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 13 April 2026
A dangerous driver who reversed a stolen car into an ambulance before exposing himself to a mother and her child at a city park has been sent to prison.
John Lamont, 28, of Monnow Way, Bettws, Newport, was jailed for a total of 16 months at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court for the string of offences committed in Cardiff.
The driving incident
On July 8 last year, Lamont was behind the wheel of a stolen Renault Arkana SUV on Cowbridge Road East in Cardiff when he collided with an ambulance.
He then mounted the kerb and struck bollards before the vehicle became stuck. When police arrived, he refused to provide a sample for analysis but admitted to officers that he had been snorting cocaine and drinking.
The court heard the dangerous driving took place shortly after Lamont had been handed a suspended prison sentence for shoplifting.
Indecent exposure
On March 14, Lamont committed a separate offence at Cemetery Park in the Adamsdown area of Cardiff.
He dropped his trousers and boxer shorts at a children’s play area, exposing his penis and buttocks before putting his hands in the air. A mother and her daughter witnessed the act.
Previous record
The court was told Lamont had 10 previous convictions for 33 offences, though none were of a similar nature.
Mitigation
His barrister, Pamela Kaiga, told the court that her client was about to become a father for the first time and had recently suffered a family bereavement.
She added that Lamont had received job offers as a cleaner at the Peppermint bar in Cardiff and as a delivery driver for takeaways on the nearby Caroline Street.
Sentencing
Lamont pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to provide a sample for analysis, driving without insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and outraging public decency.
Recorder Paul Lewis KC told him: “I would be failing in my public duty if I were not to send you immediately into prison today.”
Of the indecent exposure, the judge said: “At a children’s play area, you dropped your trousers and boxer shorts and exposed your penis and buttocks.
“You then put your hands in the air.
“This was witnessed by a mother and her daughter.”
He added that Lamont’s driving last summer had been “appalling”.
Lamont was sentenced to 14 months for dangerous driving with a consecutive two-month term for outraging public decency, giving a total of 16 months’ imprisonment.
He will serve around half of that term in custody before being released on licence. He was also banned from driving for two years following his release and must sit an extended retest and pay a victim surcharge.
