Man who 'drunkenly stole a digger and smashed it into a house and two cars before ordering McDonalds' appears in court
14 November 2022, 15:59
A man accused of drunkenly stealing a digger and drove it into a house and two cars, who was later arrested in McDonalds, has appeared in court.
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Mark Holmes allegedly stole the JCB digger and crashed it into the modern brick house in Gwent, Wales, before being taken in by the police at a McDonalds drive-through about a mile away.
Holmes, 55, is accused of causing criminal damage, aggravated vehicle taking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a woman, dangerous driving and drink driving with 60 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Moment man rams a house with a JCB digger in south Wales
Neighbours tried in vain to stop the digger after it crashed into a property in Blackwood, last Wednesday (November 9.)
They said they watched as the digger drive up and down the road several times before it turned into a driveway and ploughed into brickwork.
In footage shared online, the digger hits the front of the house before ramming a Ford Focus, with the digger’s bucket nearly flipping the car. The digger also rammed a Ford Fiesta.
Afterwards, the driver is said to have gone two miles to the nearest McDonald's where he ordered a burger meal. He was eating it in the takeaway car park when police arrived, according to locals.
One neighbour claimed the JCB onslaught happened in the middle of a long-running break-up between a couple.At one point in the footage, a man and woman emerge from the house, seemingly pleading for the driver to stop.
The video was filmed by workmen parked nearby and was later uploaded to the internet.
A voice from the van can be heard saying: 'Got it all on film for you, alright mate? Got it all on film. F***ing d***head, what's he f***ing doing? F***ing joke.’
Holmes, of Penybryn, Caerphilly, was released on bail to appear in court at a later date.
