Man jailed for driving car into pedestrians

LONDON: A man who drove a car into a group of six pedestrians outside a pub in a “revenge attack” following an earlier scuffle has been jailed for 18 years.

Thomas Broughton, 32, was behind the wheel of an Audi A3 that struck and injured three of the men outside the Waterlily pub in Ipswich in the early hours of March 8.

Brandon Mann, one of the men struck by the car, said earlier in evidence that before the incident there had been “some miscommunication” between groups outside the pub and Broughton thought he was being laughed at. He said a “scuffle” broke out, Broughton left and then a car “swerved up onto the pavement” and hit them. The defendant, of Woodbridge Road in Ipswich, was found guilty at an earlier trial at Ipswich Crown Court of dangerous driving, wounding with intent to cause GBH, and two counts of attempted wounding with intent to cause GBH, Suffolk Police said.

The force said he was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 years in prison and will serve at least 12 of them in custody, with the rest on licence. Broughton had denied all charges.

Two of the victims sustained serious injuries when they were hit by the car and were initially taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.

However, one of the men – aged in his 40s – was later transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge having sustained serious head and brain injuries. He left a rehabilitation centre in August after five months of treatment and is currently only able to walk short distances with assistance.

The second man taken to hospital required several days of treatment, but has now recovered from his injuries. The third victim was clipped by the car and suffered minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment.

Temporary Detective Superintendent David Henderson of Suffolk Police, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “There is no doubt in my mind that Thomas Broughton mounted the pavement intentionally and with the clear intent to cause harm to the group of men walking there.

“This was an extremely mindless and dangerous action, motivated at most by a minor skirmish outside a pub, which apparently took place following his belief that someone in the group had directed a comment towards him.

“As a consequence of this revenge attack, one man has been left with very serious injuries – he currently has limited mobility down one side, suffers with memory problems and is not able to walk unaided.”