Dangerous driver jailed after posting his exploits on Facebook

A young man has been jailed after filming himself driving in a smoke-filled car.

Charlie Jones, 21, bragged about his dangerous driving and posted a video of it on Facebook.

Jones could be seen laughing hysterically as he drove his Vauxhall Astra through Peacehaven with the car filled with smoke.

The video was recorded on Tuesday 5 August last year as Jones drove and his passenger deliberately let off a fire extinguisher inside the vehicle in Heathy Brow.

The clip shows Jones continuing to drive and film the incident on his mobile phone at the same time.

The next day Jones uploaded the video on to Facebook with the title “Classic nearly died twice”.

A member of the public who saw the video reported it and Sussex Police officers were able to identify and trace Jones.

Jones, of Collingwood Close, Peacehaven, was found guilty of dangerous driving when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday 15 July.

He was jailed for 10 weeks, banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £1,000 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

PC Anna Batchelor said: “I hope this deters other motorists from behaving in this manner whilst driving.

“Jones accepts that he was stupid but did not accept that his driving was dangerous. A jury thought otherwise and found him guilty of the offence.

“What Jones did was reckless and could have had serious consequences. The sentence reflects the seriousness of the incident.

“We will act on any information given to us about motoring offences and I would encourage anyone to come forward if they know of people driving dangerously.”