A MOTORIST who caused life-changing injuries after ploughing into a group of cyclists on a country road was more than three times the drug-drive limit.

Some riders were “catapulted” through the air after Jason Morgan, 48, got behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Corsa car after taking amphetamine.

One victim spent five days in intensive care while another will need £40,000 in dental treatment after they both suffered horrific injuries.

Four friends, Darran Thomas, Huw Smith, Christopher Jones and David Myhill, were riding through Gelligaer Common, near Bargoed, when Morgan hit them head-on.

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Peter Donnison, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “Mr Thomas was the lead cyclist and he could hear the revving of a car and then could see it travelling towards him.

“The driver made no attempt to stop and kept driving towards them.

"Mr Thomas thought that the driver might not like cyclists and was trying to scare them.

“His right leg collided with the car’s bumper and he heard his leg and bike snap.

"He was somersaulted through the air and lost consciousness for a few seconds.

“He was struggling to breath because he was in so much pain.”

Mr Donnison said some of the riders were “catapulted” through the air while there was evidence that others went under the Corsa.

Morgan gave a negative test after being breathalysed but officers noticed he was “very drowsy in demeanour and speech”.

A sample taken showed he had 812mg of amphetamine in his blood. The legal limit for driving is 250mg.

Mr Donnison said Mr Thomas suffered a punctured lung, fractured tibia, sternum, ribs and leg and was in intensive care for five days.

He needed muscle and skin grafts and a blood transfusion and was unable to walk for five months.

In his victim impact statement, he said: “This has completely changed my life. At 54, I was fit and active but that has been robbed from me.

“I don’t think I will be the same person again. I should be enjoying myself in these years of my life but I am unable to.”

Mr Smith, a businessman, needed a facial operation, suffered “dental trauma” estimated to cost £40,000 to be fully treated and has lost feeling in one finger.

Ski instructor Mr Jones suffered swelling on the brain and Mr Myhill a wound to his knee.

When Morgan was interviewed by police he initially claimed the sun had been in his eyes.

He told them: “I didn’t see them. It was a 50-50 accident.”

Morgan, of Colly Row, Bedlinog, Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving and drug-driving.

The offences were committed on April 20, 2019.

He has a previous conviction for drink-driving.

Lucy Crowther, mitigating, said: “The defendant is desperately sorry. It is something that has caused him terrible upset.

“He can’t make it better. He apologises wholeheartedly.”

Judge Nicola Jones told Morgan: “Mr Thomas is now a changed man. He was a fit and hard-working 54-year-old but that has been taken away from him by you. He has been devastated.

“You had a significant amount of amphetamine in your blood. You should not have been driving at all that day.”

She jailed him for two years and eight months and banned him from driving for four years and four months.