St Mellons banned driver rammed police car on M4 at Newport

South Wales Argus

07-07-2025

At around 2.20am on November 7 last year, a police officer in an unmarked car spotted a Skoda Octavia driving on Malpas Road in Newport. The car's front and rear number plates didn't match, and the officer suspected the vehicle had been stolen.
A stinger was deployed near Malpas Fire Station, and this punctured the car's front tyres, said prosecutor Nuhu Gobir.
However, the driver - Christian Robjohn - continued up the slip road and on to the westbound M4.
A number of police vehicles had now caught up with Robjohn. The Skoda made contact with the police cars, before the officers stopped him by boxing him in against the central barrier.
As one officer got out to arrest him, Robjohn revved his engine, reversed, and 'collided heavily' with the police car behind.
The officer arrested the defendant – who was on his phone. Checks revealed Robjohn was disqualified at the time, meaning he also had no insurance.
Inside the car, officers found tools worth a total of £1,133.08 which had been stolen from B&Q in Cwmbran.
He admitted dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance, fraudulent use of registration plates, and handling stolen goods.
Christian Robjohn tried to outrun the police on the M4 despite having two punctured tyres. (Image: Gwent Police)
Robjohn also admitted burglaries at three businesses in Cardiff on September 30, 2023, and breaching bail by failing to attend court.
Mr Gobir said the managers of B&M and PureGym on Excelsior industrial estate in Cardiff and B&M in Pentwyn all received messages reporting break-ins at the stores.
Robjohn and his co-defendant David Large used a Citroen Berlingo van to 'ram raid' the businesses, but they were both caught at the scene in Pentwyn.
The court heard 43-year-old Large, of Ellwood Close in Trowbridge was sentenced to a community order for the burglaries.
Mr Gobir said the defendant had 24 previous convictions for 50 offences, and that he had 'a very bad driving record'.
Robjohn's defence counsel said his best mitigation for the driving offences was his guilty pleas.
He said the 39-year-old defendant had viewed these proceedings as a wake-up call, and told him: 'I'm finished. I'm going to look after my family from now on and do the right thing'.
The court heard that the defendant had already served the equivalent to a 21-month sentence in custody awaiting sentence and on licence.
'The utterly reckless and selfish driving which you displayed involved doing anything and everything to try to get away,' said Recorder Andrew Hammond.
Robjohn, of Wakehurst Place in St Mellons, was jailed for a total of 21 months, meaning he will be released from prison imminently. He was banned from driving for three years, and must pass an extended retest.