Driver rammed car after seeing her ex-partner in it with another woman

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday that Emma O’Neill initially got out of her Peugeot and punched the driver’s window of Sara Greenall’s car while she sat chatting with her former partner Ian.

'Bizarre attack' launched at West Park Rugby Club

The single mum-of-two “lost it” after spotting them together in the vehicle in West Park Rugby Club car park, off Prescot Road, shortly before 4am one morning and launched her bizarre attack.

“You drove in an extremely dangerous manner and treated it as if it was some sort of demolition derby,” a judge told O’Neill.

Sarah Gruffyd, prosecuting, said that O’Neill had also been in a relationship with Ian at some point.

Her actions did not break the glass but shocked the couple and Ms Greenall turned on the engine and started to turn the car around in the small space without hitting O’Neill’s vehicle.

O'Neill launched her bizarre attack at West Park Rugby Club (Image: Google Street View)

“As she started to drive away she felt an impact which caused it to spin, it was hit on the rear passenger side,” said Ms Gruffyd.

“She started to move away and felt another impact to the side of her car causing it to spin nearly 180 degrees and ending up facing the wrong way.”

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Sara Greenall, tried to drive out of the car park but O’Neill twice drove into the side of her car spinning it around and when she managed to get on to Prescot Road O’Neill rammed into the back of it five or six times and the victim’s car was later written off.

The court heard Ms Greenall swerved to avoid the defendant’s car and drove on to Prescot Road and headed towards the town centre. “She was shocked and shaking. The defendant caught up with her and bumped into the rear of her vehicle five or six times.”

Ms Greenall did a U-turn and headed back towards Howard Street and called the police. Her car was later written off by her insurers and she suffered back pain and needed physiotherapy and painkillers.

O’Neill, of Nutgrove Road, Thatto Heath, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in the early hours of May 16 last year.

O'Neill was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Stock)

Peter White, defending O’Neill, said, “She wishes to apologise to the court for her atrocious driving.”

He said she had had the matter hanging over her for nearly two years and his carer for her father and younger brother. Her children both have difficulties and she has recently begun therapeutic therapy for her issues.

It was like 'some sort of demolition derby'

The judge, Recorder Matthew Happold, told 43-year-old O’Neill: “This offence is very serious but one which could have been much more serious.

“For reasons I find it difficult to comprehend you found yourself in the car park in the early hours of the morning where you came across Ms Greenall and your ex or on-off partner.”

He said it was difficult for him to infer what lay behind the incident “but what is quite clear, not only from the photographs of damage but CCTV footage, you were in a fit of rage at that point and to use the vernacular, you lost it.

“You drove in an extremely dangerous manner and treated it as if it was some sort of demolition derby. It is a matter of great fortune that no-one was seriously injured by your actions in the early hours of the morning.

“It must have been terrifying for those inside the vehicle.”

Recorder Happold sentenced her to nine months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and ordered her to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and 20 days rehabilitation activities. 

She was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay £200 towards the prosecution costs.