A man who mounted the pavement and drove his car at a group of people on Brighton seafront has been jailed.
Alpacino Veii, 25, was one of four men reported to have been involved in a fight at a restaurant in King’s Road, Brighton, at around 5.15am on November 10, 2019.
The altercation continued east along the seafront before one man – later identified as Veii – left towards the Lanes car park.
Shortly after, a Honda Civic being driven by Veii drove down Black Lion Street and mounted the pavement in King’s Road, colliding with one man and narrowly avoiding hitting several members of the public.
The car collided with decking, before Veii drove along pavement and into the central reservation where the car was immobilised.
Despite his attempts to get out and push the vehicle, he was swiftly arrested by officers and found to be in possession of cannabis and to only have a provisional licence.
CCTV from the scene showed the car ploughing through decking furniture on the seafront while pedestrians tried to escape.
At Chichester Crown Court on Wednesday (February 23), Veii was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and 18 months in prison, to run concurrently, for driving dangerously.
Veii, of Westway in Caterham, Surrey, also received a concurrent one-day jail sentence for admitting possession of cannabis and was disqualified from driving for one year.
Detective Inspector Neil Phillips said: “This was a shocking escalation of an argument between a group of people that could easily have had tragic consequences for those involved and innocent members of the public.
“It is satisfying to see Alpacino Veii brought to justice for his reckless, dangerous attack and I would like to thank the victims and everybody involved in the investigation for their help in securing this sentence.”
A concurrent one-day jail sentence. That’s a laugh!