Man caused girlfriend to crash car as he tried to grab her phone

“JEALOUS” Stuart Southcott caused his girlfriend to crash her car with him in it, a court heard.

Amy Jenkins was driving them home from a barbecue when she received a message on her phone and he demanded to see it.

When she put the phone down the side of her seat he grabbed it, causing the Nissan Micra to veer to the opposite side of the road on the A38, towards Thornbury, and crash into a pylon.

Southcott, 31, of Quarry Road in Alveston, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the incident which occurred on August 23 last year.

Judge Julian Lambert jailed him for six months.

He told Southcott: “It was an assault on an innocent person.

“You made that car crash and you made that car turn over. It was not deliberate but your acts showed a very high degree of recklessness.

“It was your jealous rage that caused a very serious car accident.”

The judge handed Southcott a seven-year restraining order, banning him from all contact with Miss Jenkins.

He also banned Southcott from driving for 15 months.

Caighli Taylor, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court Southcott became angry when Miss Jenkins received a message on her phone and demanded to see it or he would smash it up.

As she drove them on the A38 towards Thornbury, at around 30 to 40mph, he tried to grab her mobile which she had put down the side of her seat.

Miss Taylor said: “He interfered with the vehicle. The vehicle veered onto the opposite side of the road.

“There were no oncoming cars. It hit the pavement and crashed into an electricity pylon.

“The vehicle flipped over and it landed with the driver’s side in a hedge.

“Miss Jenkins was trapped in her seat and Mr Southcott was on top of her. People helped them both and put the car back on its wheels.”