An angry driver tried to mow down a man in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight. Luke Lancaster, from Spennymoor, 'saw red' and intended to stab someone he'd had a feud with when he spotted them in the street, a court heard.
CCTV footage captured the moment he veered off the road towards the man, who narrowly missed being trapped between the vehicle and some parked cars. Lancaster then left his red Audi armed with a knife, causing terrified members of the public to flee.
Previous knife and cannabis possession
Teesside Crown Court heard that Lancaster had been found in possession of a knife and a small quantity of cannabis just weeks before the incident. He was stopped by police who were carrying out routine patrols on the A19 near Thirsk on April 3.
The incident on Borough Road
On April 21, Lancaster was driving along Borough Road in Middlesbrough when he drove his Audi toward two men standing on a pavement near some parked cars before getting out of the car with a knife intending to stab one of the men, the court heard.
Mr Gary Wood, defending, told the court that the targeted person was someone who had had several problems with his family.
CCTV of the incident, played in court, showed the car veer off the road toward the men before crashing into a parked car, which subsequently rolled into another parked car. One of the men, who managed to jump out of the way of the car, can then be seen arguing with Lancaster at the driver's door.
Lancaster exits vehicle with knife
The footage showed Lancaster then exit the vehicle with a knife, leaving a passenger in the car. The court heard that the pair then move out of view of the camera before the man returns and begins attacking the passenger in the car.
Mr Wood said that Lancaster said he had "seen red" but then calmed down and did not use the knife. He added that Lancaster acted in the "heat of the moment", accepts full responsibility, and is remorseful.
Jail sentence
Lancaster, of Whitworth Meadow, Spennymoor, County Durham, appeared via video link from HMP Durham. The 31-year-old, who has 21 convictions for 44 offences, was jailed for 46 months.
