A MAN initially charged with the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend on a mountain road has been jailed for dangerous driving.

Liam Skym, 28, had drank whisky and snorted cocaine before giving his former partner a lift home after they had spent the night together.

He had driven them to the Caerphilly Mountain Snack Bar to get breakfast before he crashed a Ford Focus car into a tree after they had argued.

The woman dragged Skym out of the car before he abandoned her after she collapsed and was lying on the floor at the roadside on Mountain Road.

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The defendant had veered across the opposite side of the road before crashing at around 9.45am on the morning of Wednesday, October 25 last year.

Prosecutor Ruth Smith told Cardiff Crown Court: “Police officers subsequently located him in Corbett Crescent.

“The defendant was noticed to be smelling heavily of intoxicants.

“His speech was slurred and his eyes were glazed.”

Both Skym and the woman were taken to the University of Hospital Wales in Cardiff for treatment.

The defendant’s ex-girlfriend said following her discharge “that her whole body felt bruised”.

Skym tested positive for being over the limits for drink-driving and having a cocaine derivative in his blood.

Following his arrest, he gave the police a prepared statement.

It read: “She was arguing with me. We were both shouting at each other.

“This did not get physical on the way down from the mountain.

“I reached down to grab my fags. I clipped the run curb on the left hand side of the road.

“All I remember was sliding across the road and toppling over.

“I cannot remember hitting a tree. I am very upset about this whole incident.

“I had no intention of causing harm to (his ex-girlfriend) or myself. This was all an accident.”

Skym, of no fixed abode, Energlyn, Caerphilly pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs.

The prosecution dropped the attempted murder charge after they offered no evidence.

The defendant has 11 previous convictions for 19 offences.

These included possession with intent to supply cocaine, common assault, being in breach of a restraining order, theft and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Mark Cotter KC representing father-of-two Skym said: “He was invited to drive.”

The Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told the defendant: “Your driving would have been highly impaired by the consumption of alcohol and or drugs and I have to look at the effects of the alcohol and drugs together as well.

“Your speed from the description was inappropriate for the prevailing road conditions.

“It was your decision to drive.”

Skym was jailed for 16 months and banned from driving for three years and eight months.

He will have to pass an extended retest if he wants to regain his driving licence.