A DRINK-fuelled driver who aimed his car at two doormen, after they threw him out of a Haslemere pub last Christmas Eve, was jailed for 12 months last week. Mark Neville, 32, narrowly missed hitting the doormen outside The Swan Inn, Haslemere High Street, before he lost control and ploughed into a metal bollard. As sparks flew from under his Vauxhall Corsa van, Neville carried on driving down the High Street before smashing head-on into an oncoming car. He later told officers, in a police interview, he had sped towards the doormen as a "prank" to make them scatter. Carpenter by trade, Neville, of Parsons Close, Haslemere, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop. He was also disqualified from driving for four years and will have to take an extended driving test at the end of the disqualification period. Wendy Cottee, prosecuting, described the drama on Christmas Eve last year as an "exceptionally bad piece of driving that put lives at risk". Neville had been shopping for presents before he went to the pub at 3pm. At 10.30pm the doormen asked him to leave because they felt he was drunk and had been behaving 'inappropriately' towards a female drinker. Mrs Cottee said: "He left the pub after some altercation with the doormen where he was initially restrained, and shouted out: 'You're dead, you don't know who you are dealing with'. "He then walked away from the pub on the High Street and got into a Vauxhall Corsa, a white van with blacked out windows. "He drove this car down the hill past the pub. At some stage he went the wrong way round a roundabout. He had his lights off. "The doormen were outside the pub and the defendant drove the van straight at them. "There were other people on the pavement there as well, including two women." The doormen frantically ushered the women towards the pub, as they feared for their lives, before Neville collided with the bollard – hitting it with such force that he knocked it under the van. He then got out of the van and shouted abuse at the door staff before jumping back in and reversing back onto the road. Mrs Cottee said he drove along the High Street, "There were sparks and smoke flying as the bollard was dragged under the car, totally out of control, swerving onto a pavement at some point, and then hitting a concrete plant pot. "After the plant pot encounter the end of the van swerves round and almost hits a group of people about to cross the road." The court heard horrified motorist Lucinda Hill, with her 12 and 17-year-old sons in the back, stopped her car after she saw the maniac swerving across the road. But Neville lost control and spun head-on into her silver Honda Civic – causing her head to hit the window and left her unconscious. Mrs Hill – who in the past, had an HGV licence – has not driven since the crash, and suffered an arm injury which leaves her unable to lift it above a certain point. She now claims disability allowance. Her 12-year-old son received counselling for trauma after the crash. The force of the collision pushed the Honda into a parked car as Neville drove straight through the carnage on to West Street and failed to stop. The van was found a short while later by police officers, abandoned in Derby Road and, despite a search of the area with the help of a police dog, there was no sign of Neville. Neville handed himself in at Guildford Police Station on January 2 and was arrested. He told officers in a police interview he had drunk four pints and became agitated when the doormen chucked him out. He said he drove at them as a prank and meant to "drive slowly, rev up and stop in front of them causing them to scatter." He accepted what he did was "really stupid" and was willing to pay the consequences. Anthony Brigden, defending, said there was no evidence Neville intended to injure anybody. He said: "I invite the court to sentence him on the basis that this was obviously more than a prank, it was disgraceful, but was designed in temper of being removed from the pub, to frighten the staff and cause them to scatter." Recorder Francis Bacon told Neville that it was clear he had been heavily influenced by alcohol. He said: "You ruined that Christmas for people who were victims of your appalling behaviour. They are still suffering from what you did. "You said in your interview that you had been a bit stupid. That was a gross understatement." Detective Constable Lee Hazell said: "The way this man was driving showed a complete disregard for anyone else in his path at the time. "Those who commit offences of dangerous driving must be made to face up to their responsibilities. "This sentence sends out a clear message that Surrey Police will not tolerate this level of recklessness on our roads and will enforce acceptable standards of driving behaviour."
