A 23 year-old Coleford man whose ‘appallingly reckless’ drug-fuelled driving ended with him smashing into an oncoming car has walked free from court on Monday (April 3) with a suspended jail sentence.

Carl Harris had been ‘partying’ and had used cocaine and cannabis before overtaking dangerously and crashing into a car in which a couple were travelling with their two year old child on the A4136 at Mitcheldean.

At Gloucester Crown Court today Harris, of Blakes Way, Coleford, admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess Benzoylecgonine – a substance produced by cocaine use – in his blood on 4th August 2022.

Harris was sentenced to a 13-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.

He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to do 60 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days as well as pay a £50 fine and £187 surcharge.

Judge Ian Lawrie KC told him he would have to take an extended driving re-test at the end of the ban.

Prosecutor Lucy Taylor said it was about 9.30pm on August 4 that Mr Ryan Mewse was driving his Vauxhall Insignia on the A4136 at Plump Hill and saw an Audi A3 coming towards him on his side of the road.

“It was overtaking dangerously, at speed, uphill and over the double white lines,” she said.

“Mr Mewse and his partner commented to each other about his driving as he got closer to them.

“Mr Mewse braked and tried to get out of the way but the Audi collided with the front driver’s side of the Insignia.

“Mr Mewse came to a stop very close to a wall and both his airbags deployed.

“There was dust in the car. His partner had to climb into the back of the car to get to their young son who was about two-years-old

“This was because there was a wall preventing the door being opened. Mr Mewse had to force his own door open to get out. He suffered some soreness and bruising and his partner had a flare up of her fibromyalgia.

“She was taken to hospital but luckily no other injuries were found.”

The prosecutor said Harris remained in his car and appeared dazed and in pain.

He was behaving in an ‘irritable and erratic’ way and when he got out of the car he was stumbling.

“He was walking around as if he had just come out of a night club and he appeared intoxicated,” Ms Taylor said.

“His passengers also seemed irritated and were saying they wanted to leave.

“They were removing plastic bottles, bags and balloons from the car. The passengers were confrontational and the defendant was not remorseful.

“When in an ambulance he said he had blacked out.”

He tested positive for cannabis and cocaine and at hospital a blood test showed he had 164 micrograms (mcgs) of cocaine in his blood, the legal limit being 50mcgs.

Ms Taylor said Harris was of previous good character.

She submitted, however, that his offending was ‘high culpability’ because of the drug usage, the fact he had passengers in his car and that he had been driving aggressively.

Catherine Flint, defending, told the court “He had been out partying with friends. He had been using drugs. Whether it was naivety or stupidity it was very dangerous of him to get behind the wheel of a car and drive.

“But it is fair to say that this incident has really frightened him. Since the incident he has, under his own steam, been in touch with Change, Grow, Live and has been having drug counselling once a fortnight.

“He has not drunk any alcohol or used any cocaine since the incident. Occasionally he does still use cannabis to help him sleep.”

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“He was working as a delivery driver but has now lost that job because of the interim driving disqualifcation that was imposed by the court.”