A young Oldham man drove at a couple who had told him he should not be drinking and driving in a "terrifying" ordeal.

Joshua Bunn appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court today (Monday, January 29) after previously pleading guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and dangerous driving.

Sophie Kenny, prosecuting, told the court that on September 18, 2020, married couple Connor and Claire Winters had been out for a meal and drinks in Royton and were planning to walk home, stopping at their parked car on the way.

At around 00.15am on what was now September 19, the couple saw a man staggering in the car park on Radcliffe Street, believing he was intoxicated.

Bunn, of Windmill Close, Royton, was the man the couple saw and he got into his car before driving out of the car park.

When he stopped, Mr Winters went up to the car and told Bunn he should not be drinking and driving, to which Bunn, 22, said nothing.

CCTV footage played in court showed that as Mr and Mrs Winters left the car park, Bunn drove at the former, knocking him onto the bonnet of the car before he landed on the ground.

As Mrs Winters attended to her husband, Bunn reversed, before driving at the pair, knocking both to the ground and up against a wall.

Luckily, Mrs Winters was knocked through a gap in the wall by the car and neither her or her husband sustained serious injuries.

Bunn was arrested on September 24 and told police he had not had any alcohol or drugs, and that he had been punched in the head earlier that night, causing him to black out and have no recollection of the incident.

Ms Kenny described the incident as a "persistent assault" which included "an element of revenge or retaliation".

She also pointed out that Bunn, who was 19 at the time of the incident, attempted to conceal evidence by taking his car to a repair shop to fix the damages his car sustained and that he drove off from the scene and did not report the incident.

"I remember thinking 'this is it', I was going to die"

Both Mr and Mrs Winters read victim impact statements to the court at the sentencing.

In his, Mr Winters said he "thankfully" only suffered minor injuries, however the psychological affect of the incident has been very heavy.

He said: "I repeatedly play in my mind what the outcome could have been.

"Our kids could have lost one of their parents or both."

He added that the biggest effect of the incident was an overwhelming feeling of "helplessness and guilt", saying he felt guilty for not stopping Bunn from driving when he was "clearly intoxicated".

Meanwhile, Mrs Winters said she was "miraculously" left with no major injuries but was "shaken and terrified" by the attack.

She told the court: "I struggled to leave the house, I was scared this person knew who we were and would try and hurt us again.

"Thank God that gap was there or else I think I genuinely would have been killed that night.

"I remember thinking 'this is it', I was going to die".

Mrs Winters added that the ordeal had left her needing counselling.

"We have all watched the footage - it's terrifying"

Keith Harrison, defending Bunn, admitted the victims had been through an "atrocious ordeal" but said Bunn had expressed remorse.

He said Bunn "panicked" and says he was not drunk at the time, although Mr Harrison admitted Mr and Mrs Winters would not have intervened if they did not think Bunn was drunk.

Mr Harrison said Bunn had suffered from mental health issues since he was 13, including anxiety and depression, and that a kidnapping incident when he was 15 years old had an impact on his psyche.

It was said that Bunn had "defects in his ability to resolve conflicts" .

Mr Harrison told the court that since the incident, Bunn had stopped drinking and was "trying to become a better member of society".

When passing sentence, Recorder Nathan Moxon said Mr Winters had "quite properly" told Bunn he should not be drinking and driving but that instead of taking his advice, he drove at him.

Recorder Moxon said: "We have all watched the footage - it's terrifying."

He described the victims not suffering any major injuries as a "miracle" and refused to accept that Bunn had panicked.

Recorder Moxon sentenced Bunn to four years and seven months in prison, at least two-thirds of which he will serve before being released on licence.

He also disqualified Bunn from driving for 60 months and ordered that he must take an extended retest before he can ever get behind the wheel again.