A MAN who lost his temper after being sacked from his job at Honda has been jailed for causing his now ex-girlfriend to crash her car because she wouldn’t take him to Pinehurst.

Kingsley Colton grabbed the steering wheel while in the passenger seat because his demands were not met and tried to steer the car in the other direction before the Peugeot 106 smashed into a metal pole.

Magistrates slammed the 22-year-old when he appeared in court and said he could have caused a serious crash, or worse, the death of a pedestrian, before they sentenced him to 26 weeks in prison.

And the Medlar Court resident pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the incident which happened on July 27.

Nick Barr, on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service, told the court: “He managed to get himself a job at Honda but he didn’t turn up and was sacked on day two.

“They were arguing that he couldn’t hold down a job and she was fed up of paying for him.

“When they were driving past the train station he asked her to take him to Pinehurst and she refused because of the mood he was in. He pulled the handbrake and grabbed the steering wheel.

“They carried on down Station Road towards Tesco and without warning he grabbed the steering wheel again and pushed her hands away. They were travelling at about 25mph.

“As a result they crashed into a metal bollard. She didn’t have enough time to do anything about it and the pole was forced out of the concrete and toppled over.

“He said he grabbed the steering wheel because she was hitting him and she left the handbrake on.”

The court also heard how the sentencing had been adjourned earlier this month for pre-sentence reports but he did not turn up to two appointments with the probation service.

Wayne Hardy, on behalf of Colton, said: “It’s not looking up for Mr Colton. He has burnt bridges with probation and is on an order already and is not attending treatment as he should be.

“One would think Mr Colton would know better as he has a history of failing to comply with community orders.

“Mr Colton doesn’t want to go to prison and has made that quite clear to me and would do anything to avoid that scenario.

“He did a very stupid and foolish act. Arguing in the car with a partner is not a good idea at the best of times. Thankfully no one was injured, thankfully no pedestrian was put at risk.

“He regrets his actions. They were both arguing with each other with, unfortunately, Mr Colton’s anger getting the better of him."

Chairman of the bench Geoffrey Earl sentenced him to 26-weeks in prison as well as a fine of £115. He may be released on licence after serving after the sentence.

He was also made subject to a restraining order against the woman.