James Batesman: Man jailed for 12 years after driving car into crowd outside Kent pub

'A man was hit directly by the car, suffering fractures to his leg and arm'

A man who injured seven people after deliberately driving his car into a crowd outside a pub has been jailed for 12 years.

James Bates, of Littlestone, Kent, ploughed into the Cinque Port Arms in New Romney High Street, Kent, on 24 November 2017.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that minutes earlier he had been ejected by staff after getting into a number of altercations with other customers.

Bates then accelerated his silver Vauxhall Corsa, racing towards the crowd at 33mph.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “It hit the building by the front door, as well as a number of people who had been standing outside at the time. Among the injuries reported, a man was hit directly by the car, suffering fractures to his leg and arm.”

The incident was caught on CCTV.

Following his arrest, Bates told investigators that he could not explain why he had driven at the crowd of people.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of grievous bodily harm (GBH) and six charges of attempted GBH.

The 25-year-old was also disqualified from driving for five years.

Detective Constable Chris Brett described the incident as a “pre-meditated attack”.

He said: “Considering the damage a car can cause, the people who were outside the pub at the time of the collision are fortunate their injuries were not worse. ”Regardless of injury, to be targeted in such a frightening and unprovoked way can have wide-reaching detrimental effects on those involved.”