A FORMER BAE apprentice caused ‘substantial damage’ to a commercial premises in Barrow after losing control of his vehicle, a court heard.
Clayton Byrom crashed his Seat into the shopfront of Abbey Blinds on Rawlinson Street in the early hours of January 22, 2023, South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard.
The 25-year-old told police in interview he had oversteered and collided with a curb which caused his vehicle to spin out of control at 180 degrees.
He told officers he believed he was driving at up to 42 mph at the time.
Rawlinson Street has a speed limit set of 30 mph due to being in a residential and built-up area to protect pedestrians.
“There was substantial damage caused to the building,” prosecutor Peter Kelly said.
“Structural engineers had to be called out. It has had financial difficulties for the owner.
“There were two tenants, one of which was residential. They had to be moved out to another location.
“Officers attended and the defendant was arrested and taken to hospital. He received some treatment.”
The court heard there was a passenger in the defendant’s vehicle at the time.
“This is not a prolonged piece of bad driving,” Mr Kelly concluded.
Byrom, of Elmfield, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton le Spring, Sunderland, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to one charge of driving a motor vehicle dangerously on June 11.
The court was told Byrom had previous relevant convictions for failing to provide a specimen for analysis in 2021 and for driving with excess alcohol in February 2024.
He was consequently banned from driving for three years.
Mr Kelly said he could not provide a ‘reasonable explanation’ as to why the case had taken three-and-a-half years to come before the court.
Representing the defendant, solicitor Sophie Shooter attempted to persuade magistrates that they could deal with the sentencing exercise.
“This is a borderline case,” Ms Shooter said.
“You may feel there are multiple aggravating factors, but the defendant does also have some significant personal mitigation.
“He was 21 years old at the time and there has been a significant delay in proceedings.
“At the time, he was a BAE apprentice. He had security clearance, but they were maintain that and keep the spot open. He is now on a new apprenticeship in welding working on dump trucks.
“He was trying to block out what he had done and began self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. It led to a spiral in his life. He suffered a mental health crisis and attempted to take his own life.
“It was the drink driving offence after this which was his wake-up call.
“He now no longer does any drugs and only drinks alcohol on special occasions.
“He has been diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD. He provides for his mother who has multiple sclerosis and does charity work.
“He wants to build a stable life for himself and has demonstrated significant insight.”
Gillian Sutton, the chair magistrates’ bench, described the offence as an ‘unpleasant incident’, but believed Byrom had a ‘real prospect of rehabilitation’.
Subsequently, he was made the subject of a 12-month sentence suspended for a period of 18 months with one requirement of completing 150 hours of unpaid work.
Byrom was also banned from driving for a further two years and told to undertake an extended retest if he ever wished to drive again after the ban had elapsed.
Court costs of £85 and a £187 victim surcharge were finally sought.
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