A MAN from Pontypool has been handed a year long prison sentence and a driving ban after flipping a car in a crash that led his passengers to believe their friend was dead.

Harrison Morris, 22, badly hurt passengers Kayleigh Dowding and her friend Josie Pattemore after losing control of the vehicle on Avondale Road in Cwmbran.

The defendant, of Oaklands Road, Sebastopol, Pontypool pled guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving at 1am on Saturday, May 27 last year.

In his sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court today, October 8, the court heard that Morris was 'showing off' and 'trying to impress' the two young women when giving them a lift from a Wetherspoons pub in Cwmbran to Newport.

On the night of the incident, Morris, who was driving without a licence, attempted to overtake a car 'at high speed' when approaching a roundabout, causing the BMW 1 series car that he was driving, which did not belong to him, to spin and flip upside before landing on its side.

(Image: Newsquest)

Prosecution told the court that injuries to Miss Pattemore, a once aspiring world champion in taekwondo, to require four metal plates to be surgically installed into her jaw.

This was due to numerous fractures in her jaw and other parts of her face.

She still suffers with a shoulder injury today, and has been told that nerve damage causing numbness in her chin will likely be something she endures forever.

Miss Dowding, who had to be cut out of the vehicle, suffered fractured ribs and spinal bones alongside a collapsed lung and bleeds on her spleen, lungs and kidneys. She also still suffers with the lasting effects of her injuries today.

In their personal victim statement's read to the court, both women mentioned the psychological impacts of the incident and how all aspects of the crash have prevented them 'leading a normal life.'

They also mentioned the financial burden of having to pay for private healthcare while being unfit to work.

"Someone I trusted did this to me," said Miss Pattemore, who was present in court to watch his sentencing.

Morris' defence, who the judge urged him to thank at the end of the hearing, asked the judge to consider that his mother is severely unwell and relies on his support. Also that he is also due to become a father this month.

"He suffers flashbacks himself and is genuinely remorseful," said his defence barrister.

"His actions were immature and impulsive.

"I ask you to consider that his mother was taken to hospital in an ambulance this morning at around 3am.

"I asked him if he wanted to adjourn the case and he declined - He wanted to know his fate."

Upon sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther addressed Morris and said: "The two victims were sat in the back and they were thrown around. When the car stopped, Kayleigh was stuck hanging in the air unconscious, with her phone still in her hand.

"Josie had to remove the phone and use it to call emergency services. She thought Kayleigh had died.

"Emergency services came quickly and when they had arrived to the scene you had run away. You ran away leaving them there. What does that say about you?

"You were desperate for their attention and driving around in that BMW made you feel big.

"You need to grow up."

Harrison Morris was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. 

He has to complete 220 hours of unpaid work and is disqualified from driving for 18 months, with the requirement to complete an extended retest if he wants a licence in the future.