Man jailed for leaving bricks on A483 near Welshpool

Powys County Times

5 days ago

A man has been jailed for putting drivers at risk of danger by leaving bricks on a busy main road at night on New Year's Eve.
At least three vehicles were damaged after several bricks were left on the A483 between Arddleen and Pool Quay, near Welshpool at around 7.25pm on December 31, 2024.
Lee Wright, 39, who has been in custody since his arrest last year, was jailed for a year and eight months on Monday, June 2, after admitting causing danger to road users and three counts of criminal damage.
Police bodycam footage from the scene showed Wright, wearing a pink high vis coat, admitting to an officer that he had left the bricks strewn across the road.
"I did this because the cars were not acting normal," Wright said. "I'm happy to be arrested for it."
One of Wright's victims, who was travelling with his young son, is then heard to tell Wright that he is an "absolute imbecile" to which Wright replied "Yep, I know".
COURT AND CRIME
Several tyres had been burst during the incident which drivers could not avoid on an unlit and wet stretch of 60mph road, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.
One of the victims, Bethan Ballard, was driving along the A483 in a Mercedes. She told the court in a statement that she was left "very scared" travelling alone, adding that the incident could have resulted in someone being seriously injured or killed.
Prosecuting barrister Dafydd Roberts said there was "clearly a sequence of events" leading to the incident after Wright, of no fixed abode, was convicted of four offences including theft, criminal damage, assault and disorderly behaviour only weeks prior.
Defending barrister Amy Edwards told the court that Wright, who has mental health issues, claims to have had no memory of the offence, suffers from schizophrenia and was homeless at the time.
"Since being in prison, the defendant has been receiving medication routinely and on time," Ms Edwards said. "The psychiatric report says the defendant is doing a lot better now."
Ms Edwards said her client's culpability was reduced due to his mental disorder and schizophrenia diagnosis, adding that although it was a "deliberate' act, it was 'not a sophisticated level of offending".
She said that there was a serious risk of physical and psychological harm to the victims but "very fortunately" nobody was hurt, and the only damage was caused to the vehicles.
"The defendant is very aware that immediate custody is the only option in any event. He is not suitable for a mental health requirement, but he is doing much better in a custodial environment."
Sentencing Wright, Judge Timothy Petts said what he did was "clearly very dangerous" and the consequences "could have been very much more serious".
He said there was a psychiatric element to his offending which reduced how blameworthy he was "but it's not an excuse".
"Putting bricks on a 60mph road in the dark has a very high risk of causing harm," the judge said.
"To make matters worse you were on a community order at the time so in breach of committing further offences.
'You are clearly not suitable for intervention in the community, and you have a history of poor compliance with court orders."
Wright was sentenced to 20 months for causing danger to road users, and eight months for each criminal damage offence which would run concurrently.