Neil Jones, 48, of Morningside Road, Norris Green, was already under police investigation over the death of Linda Donnelly when he attacked a family with a claw hammer at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet two days before Christmas 2025.
Mrs Donnelly, a devoted nan known as Lin, died after being struck by Jones' car in Bootle more than a year earlier.
Fatal collision in Bootle
Linda Donnelly, 72, was crossing Brewster Street at around 7.45pm on December 12, 2024, when she was hit by Jones' car. A taxi driver travelling behind saw “something fly into the air” following the collision, while the occupants of another car stopped and administered first aid. Members of Mrs Donnelly's family were in tears in the public gallery as prosecutor Zahra Baqri described the scene.
Jones told witnesses: “I hit her, I hit her. It was an accident.” He was said to be “extremely upset and distressed”, pacing up and down while saying “oh my God, oh my God”. In a phone call, he said: “I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened. She just walked in front me.” He later claimed Mrs Donnelly ran out into the road, but Ms Baqri said: “The footage clearly shows that Mrs Donnelly did not run into the road.”
Paramedics made considerable efforts at resuscitation at the roadside, but Mrs Donnelly was pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital as a result of multiple injuries. Jones was arrested and performed well during impairment tests at Walton Police Station, later telling detectives he simply didn't see Mrs Donnelly in the road. Investigations found he had been travelling at roughly 45mph, between 39mph and 51mph, on the 30mph road. Ms Baqri said: “It is the crown's case that, if the defendant had been travelling at the legal limit of 30mph, the tragedy could have been avoided.”
Claw hammer attack at Cheshire Oaks
At around 3.15pm on December 23, 2025, retired police officer Martin Alwyn was at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port with his two adult sons and grandchildren aged five and nine. As they crossed the road towards a restaurant, Jones “drove his car towards them at speed”. Mr Alwyn thought Jones was going far too fast for the busy, built-up area and said he narrowly missed making contact with his son by a matter of inches.
Mr Alwyn's son, Mark Brough, shouted at Jones to slow down and threw soft toys at the car; they bounced off the back and hit the floor. Another witness, Mark Kimpton, saw Jones “flying in his car” and said he was within inches of hitting the family. Jones slammed on his brakes, stopped his Ford Focus in a disabled parking space and got out, accusing the group of damaging his car. His demeanour was aggressive, and he shouted: “What have you done to my f***ing car? Who the f*** are you? I'll f***ing kick your head in. Don't you dare throw anything at my car or I'll smash your face.”
He pushed Mr Alwyn to the chest, causing him to stumble backwards, and threw punches at both him and Mr Brough, making contact with the latter's cheek. Members of Mrs Donnelly's family gasped in court as it was heard that Mr Brough had been holding his child at the time. When Mr Kimpton tried to intervene, Jones warned he was “going to take them all on”, then went to his boot, rummaged around and produced a claw hammer. He brandished it above his head, charged at Mr Kimpton and swung it at him at least twice. Ms Baqri said: “Fortunately for Mr Kimpton, the hammer did not make contact.”
Jones then got back into his car. Security staff and members of the public surrounded the vehicle to detain him. Feeling trapped, he reversed and collided with another car, momentarily pinning Jonathan Adamson between the two vehicles. Mr Adamson, a highways worker and armed forces veteran, described pain shooting through his legs and said he was trapped for a few seconds. Jones drove forward then reversed again, pinning him once more, before speeding off out of the car park.
Victim impact statements
In a statement read to the court, Mr Alwyn said: “What should have been a happy and memorable family day was instead ruined by the defendant's behaviour and actions. As both a parent and a grandfather, I felt an immediate and instinctive need to protect my family. It was clear that the incident caused significant distress, particularly to my eldest grandchild. Seeing the fear and upset in my family, especially in my nine-year-old grandson, has been the most difficult aspect for me to come to terms with. No child should have to witness such behaviour, and the impact it had on him continues to anger and upset me.”
He went on: “I am a retired police officer and, over the course of my career, I have been exposed to many challenging and distressing situations. What occurred that day is not something members of the public should expect to encounter, particularly during what should have been a normal family outing. This has made the experience all the more shocking and unsettling for us all. I was struck to my chest, which caused pain and discomfort for several hours afterwards. I also felt a significant sense of shock that such an event had taken place whilst I was with my family. I sincerely hope that neither I nor my loved ones ever have to experience anything like this again.”
Mr Brough added: “The thing that really shocked me the most was that he attacked and had a go at me whilst I was still holding onto my child. The kids were really shaken up by the incident for quite a while. I only hope that they never have to experience something like that again.”
Sentencing
Jones has 23 previous convictions for 34 offences, with a majority for theft and several for breaches of court orders. He was caught speeding on five occasions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and received suspended prison sentences for assaults in 2016, 2017 and 2019, as well as a fine for assaulting two police officers in 2018.
His barrister, Callum Ross, said Jones accepted responsibility for the tragic death of Mrs Donnelly as a result of his careless driving and was sorry for his actions. Ross told the court that Jones had surrendered his driving licence to the DVLA and had no desire to drive again. He also noted Jones' caring responsibilities for his disabled cousin, his four children and his diagnosed depression.
Judge Simon Medland KC directed that Mr Adamson be awarded a commendation, saying: “He was instrumental as a bystander in securing the detention of the defendant. He behaved in a selfless, public spirited and courageous way.” Jones appeared to smirk at that point, but later wiped his eyes with a tissue as the judge sentenced him.
Sentencing him to 51 months in prison, the judge said: “It was dark because of the time of night and, of course, it was the winter, but there was nothing external to your driving which contributed to the outcome. The careless driving for which I have to sentence you, which caused Mrs Donnelly's death, was that you exceeded the speed limit by about 50%. But for your driving, there is every reason to suppose that she would be alive today.”
He added: “It falls within the context of another similar offence, in many ways, a year later. You were in your car again at Cheshire Oaks a couple of days before Christmas. The place was very, very busy, families taking their children and grandchildren out, amongst whom were Mr Alwyn, Mr Brough and the grandchildren. You drove far too quickly in very busy circumstances and thereby almost collided with members of Mr Alwyn's family. Instead of simply apologising and driving on, you took the trouble to park up in a disabled bay, get in their faces in a frightening and worrying way, the children no doubt wondering what on Earth was going on as this aggressive man came over to where they were.”
Jones was also banned from driving for 51 months and ordered to pass an extended retest. He was given restraining orders preventing him from contacting members of Mrs Donnelly's family and his victims in the second incident for seven years.
