A SHOTTON man left a police officer in “excruciating pain” after he drunkenly drove straight at him in Wrexham town centre, a court heard.

Jordan Anthony John Gleave, of Larch Avenue in Shotton, appeared before Mold Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday.

Prosecuting, Owen Evans told the court how 24-year-old Gleave had been seen reversing out onto Town Hill in Wrexham facing the wrong way during the early hours of April 20.

He had also been seen driving the wrong way along the one-way street some hours previously.

After being approached by a staff member of a nearby pub and two police officers during his second visit to the hill, at about 12.50am, he attempted to drive forwards and collided with a lamppost.

Two police officers, one of whom was PC Colin Hughes, noted that there was a young female in the passenger seat of the car and a can of lager in the central console.

The officers attempted to stop Gleave from moving the vehicle further, but he began to rev the engine.

PC Hughes stepped out in front of the vehicle and raised his hand, but Gleave proceeded to drive at the officer and collided with the inner right side of his groin.

Owen Evans told the court Gleave then drove off the wrong way down Town Hill and through a red light, leaving PC Hughes in “excruciating pain.”

Gleave was later found in the car, which was parked in Kingsmills Road, by PC Simon Price.

The court heard Gleave was “so drunk, he had to be helped out of the car.”

Officers had to use captor spray to take him into custody as he then resisted arrest.

In his statement, PC Hughes said he accepts that his role brings him into contact with “drunken” individuals, but likened the incident with Gleave to “facing a bullet.”

He said the injury had left him in a lot of pain and resulted in him having blood in his urine.

Following tests, Gleave was found to be more than twice the legal alcohol limit and when interviewed later he told police he had a limited recall of the events.

Owen Evans said: “[It] was a reckless act. Sustained efforts were made by the police to stop him and this was an effort to get away from them.”

Philip Clemo, defending, said while Gleave’s memory of the night was poor, he admitted his actions upon seeing CCTV footage of the incident.

Mr Clemo said: “He knows it is a serious matter. Before entering court today he has already lost a lot.

“He had invested several thousands of pounds into setting up a mobile jet washing business - that has had to be shelved.

“A young man with an admirable entrepreneurial streak has had his plans quashed based on poor decisions made in one night.

“His relationship with alcohol that night was an unhealthy one. It was completely unacceptable.

“It was reckless. It was not motivated by hatred of police officers and not done with intent to hurt that officer.

“It was a result of general foolishness and not thinking even a second ahead.

“There is work that can be done. His remorse is documented.

“Give him one chance to prove he can be the man he normally is, rather than the man he was on that night.”

Judge Niclas Parry took a dim view of the offence, particularly in the wake of Thames Valley Police officer PC Andrew Harper’s death in Berkshire last week.

He said: “This week of all weeks, the public don’t need to be reminded of the consequences that can flow from police bravely.

“You could have caused truly serious injury, if not worse.

“Police officers should be entitled to go to work and come home safely.

“What happened on this evening is that you were in the motor vehicle with a passenger when you were alerted to the fact you were driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

“Disgracefully, two hours later, having consumed more than twice the legal limit, you were driving the wrong way again - clearly having no regard for the danger you were causing in Wrexham Town Centre.

“The officer bravely stepped away, raised his hand and you drove straight at him.

“You intended to escape. You collided, drove off - leaving behind the officer in excruciating pain. This was a serious, prolonged incident.”

Gleave had initially been accused of dangerous driving, drink driving, assault and resisting arrest in relation to the incident - and had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and assault at a previous hearing on August 2.

Judge Parry ordered Gleave to serve a 12 month custodial sentence for the dangerous driving and dealt with the other charges as aggravating factors, imposing no separate penalty for them.

He also handed Gleave a 12 month driving disqualification - with an additional six months added.