A CARELESS driver who seriously injured another road user has been sentenced by the courts.

Thomas Cashman has been punished for his actions behind the wheel, but magistrates opted against making his prison sentence immediate.

The 24-year-old was sentenced at Warrington Magistrates’ Court, having admitted a charge of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving at an earlier hearing.

The facts of the case were outlined by Nicola Parr, representing the prosecution, who explained how the offence was committed on July 1 last year.

The defendant was driving a Mercedes Sprinter van on Chester Road in Preston Brook, close to the junction with the M56.

He did so without due care and attention, resulting in a crash with a Vauxhall Zafira car at around 5.10pm, causing serious injuries to a male victim.

Magistrates highlighted that the offence committed was a serious one, meaning that it was worthy of a custodial sentence.

They referenced how serious injuries were caused by the defendant ‘driving while in drink’, while they also touched on the impact the offence has had.

However, taking his guilty plea into account and a determination from the probation service that there is a ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’, they concluded that they could suspend the term of imprisonment.

Cashman, of Astley Road in Huyton, was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison suspended for two years, including 100 hours of unpaid work, in and for the benefit of the community.

He was also disqualified from driving for the next two years and ordered to pay costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £85.