Church Village man jailed for multiple driving offences

A banned driver from Rhondda Cynon Taf has been jailed for motoring offences including failing to stop his van for police.

On Sunday, April 6, roads policing officers were driving along Oxford Street in Nantgarw when they noticed a white Peugeot van drive past them at high speed.

Officers immediately did a U-turn to follow the van, and Dean John, 51, from Church Village, looked to be bringing his van to a stop when indicated. Instead, he sped off.

John then continued to drive erratically, driving through red lights, swerving over the road and driving at over twice the legal speed limit. He eventually came to a stop in a dead end and tried to flee from officers by running and hiding in a bush.

John was arrested for multiple offences. He appeared before Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates court on Tuesday April 8, 2025, where he pleaded guilty to failing to stop when required by police, using a motor vehicle without insurance, driving whilst disqualified, failure to provide a specimen for analysis and driving a motor vehicle dangerously.

He was sentenced to one year in prison and disqualified from driving for a further five years.