AN Ebbw Vale man has been told he faces a "substantial" prison sentence, after being found guilty of causing the death by dangerous driving of a 20-year-old woman during a car 'race' with her boyfriend.
Neil Brooks, 49, of Lansbury Terrace, Ebbw Vale, was racing Jay Bayliss through the Beaufort area of the town and into Brynmawr on July 26 2017, when the latter lost control of his car and hit a lamp post.
Mr Bayliss's girlfriend Sophie Brimble, of Crickhowell, died of her injuries.
Her boyfriend was so seriously injured that he was deemed unfit to be prosecuted.
Following a week-long trial, a jury at Cardiff Crown Court this afternoon unanimously found Brooks guilty of causing Miss Brimble's death by dangerous driving, and guilty of causing serious injury to Mr Bayliss by dangerous driving.
Brooks had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Remanding Brooks in custody ahead of a sentencing hearing on November 18, Judge Martin Fitton QC told him: "You have been convicted of serious offences. They will give rise to a substantial prison sentence."
Judge Fitton also paid tribute to Miss Brimble's family for the "dignity" they displayed throughout the trial.
He asked prosecuting counsel Matthew Cobbe to "thank them for the way they have conducted themselves".
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