A DRIVER hit a man with his car in a “revenge” attack after being surrounded by a gang and stabbed in the neck in a robbery.

Ryan Beirne was told he was lucky he hadn’t killed Adam Mathias after causing him serious injuries when he struck him while driving his Audi A3.

The 29-year-old Beirne had himself been seriously hurt and was “covered in blood” after being knifed inside his vehicle while at Fairwater Shops in Cwmbran last summer.

The defendant was robbed of a chain and mobile phone after he was confronted by a group of three or four men.

Mr Mathias, 26, who had only been released from prison that day and has a previous conviction for attempted robbery, was with the gang.

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A man in the group was arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of Beirne but no action was taken because he cannot identify the person who caused his injuries.

Martha Smith-Higgins, prosecuting, said the defendant had chased the gang down in his car after being stabbed in the neck and hand.

Beirne struck Mr Matthias a “glancing blow” after mounting a grass verge off Fairwater Way a short distance from where he had been attacked.

Miss Smith-Higgins told Cardiff Crown Court: “Witnesses could hear a loud bang and the complainant was found lying face down.

“He was bleeding from the nose and mouth and had a twisted leg.

“The complainant was in and out of consciousness.

“He had a wound to his head, bruising to his right eye socket, a mouth injury, a fractured right thigh bone and an injury to his kidney.”

“The defendant used, in the circumstances, a highly dangerous weapon to inflict injuries.”

Beirne abandoned his car and walked to the Grange University Hospital three miles away.

The defendant, of Lime Crescent, Newport pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.

The offences took place at around 8.30pm on Thursday, August 24, 2023.

Byron Broadstock representing him said: “It’s hard to imagine a greater degree of provocation than Ryan Beirne suffered that night.

“He is a man who has no history of violence and there are people who speak highly of him.

“The defendant and the complainant knew each other but there was no animosity between them.

“It was never his intention to strike him but to retrieve his property.”

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Beirne that although he had been the initial victim of a very serious attack he’d “foolishly decided to take some form of revenge”.

He added: “I accept you were in shock but you so easily could have killed that young man and you would be facing a very long period in custody indeed.”

The defendant was jailed for 24 months but the sentence was suspended for 24 months.

Beirne will have to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay the prosecution’s costs of £1,630.

He was banned from driving for two years and will have to sit an extended retest to regain his licence.