A MOTORIST who left a 19-year-old woman passenger with life-changing injuries after deliberately ramming the car she was travelling in has been jailed for 14 years.

Joseph Purcell, 53, ‘used his car as a weapon’ to veer into a flowery coloured blue VW Beetle car and send it flying off the road at the Newent turn off on the M50 southbound carriageway.

The Beetle, which was being driven by a 37-year-old woman, was written off as it careered out of control around 6.50pm on Monday, September 17.

Worcester Crown Court heard that Purcell drove off without stopping in his Volvo V70 car, leaving other motorists to raise the alarm and try and help before 999 services arrived.

The teenage passenger was severely injured and had to be airlifted to hospital in Bristol, while the uninjured driver was in a state of shock.

Police later released a CCTV image of Purcell’s silver-coloured car and launched a manhunt, arresting him three days after the incident.

Purcell, from Letterston Road, Runmeny in Cardiff, admitted a charge of dangerous driving, but denied Section 18 wounding with intent. He was convicted of the second charge after a five day trial and jailed for 14 years on Friday, March 1.

The court heard he had “intentionally collided” with the other car near Gorsley, causing “life-changing injuries” to the teenage passenger.

Sergeant Jamie Bullock of West Mercia Police said: “The acts undertaken by Purcell have had a huge impact on two innocent law abiding citizens. Purcell used his vehicle as a weapon to threaten the lives of the victims and then denied the offence of GBH, showing no signs of remorse, despite inflicting serious life-changing injuries to one of his victims.

“I  would like to commend the members of public who supported this prosecution, along with the tenacity of the work undertaken by one of our officers, Detective Constable Peter Dunne, who worked tirelessly to ensure that Purcell be brought to justice.

“We welcome the court’s decision to sentence Purcell to 14 years in prison as this demonstrates the severity of both the case and Purcell’s actions, and I hope that the victims feel some sense of closure after their ordeal.

“We will not tolerate dangerous driving on our roads and will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.”

A 10-mile stretch of the M50 was closed for five hours following the rush-hour incident.