Driver whose car ended up embedded in side of house is jailed

A MAN who drunkenly crashed his car through the pine end of a Neath Valley house — causing £70,000 worth of damage — has been sent to prison for dangerous driving.

Michael O'Sullivan was uninsured and at the wheel of a Toyota Celica with four defective tyres when he ploughed into a Resolven couple's home last July.

Michael and Julie Miller were woken up at 4.20am by what they though was a clap of thunder or an explosion.

But they were horrified to see the car in their kitchen — they had to escape through a window as gas leaked from a ruptured pipe.

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The incident was described yesterday when 24-year-old O'Sullivan, of St Helier Drive, Sandfields, Port Talbot, was jailed for 12 months at Swansea Crown Court.

He was also given an 18-month driving ban after admitting dangerous driving, drink-driving and having no insurance.

Huw Rees, prosecuting, said that in the early hours of July 28 the defendant went home after a drinking session and had an argument with his girlfriend. He then decided to go out again, this time taking his car.

But in wet conditions in Resolven he lost control of the Celica and smashed it through the pine end of the Millers' Company Street house.

Below: Video of the incident

Neighbour Kenneth Davies saw O'Sullivan crawling out of the car and leaving the scene.

O'Sullivan was arrested a short time later after a police officer saw him walking along nearby Commercial Road.

The defendant, who had a cut on his head and blood on his jeans, claimed: "That's my car — it's been nicked."

A breath test showed he was just over twice the legal alcohol limit for driving and an examination of his car revealed four defective tyres.

The crash caused more than £70,000 worth of damage to the house, Mr Rees told the court.

But there was also a "huge emotional cost", added the barrister, something that would remain with the Millers for a long time.

Interviewed after his arrest, O'Sullivan continued to deny being the driver, insisting the car had been stolen.

Then last month his solicitors contacted the court to say he was changing his account.

James Jenkins, in mitigation, emphasised that O'Sullivan was a man with no previous convictions and his behaviour on the night in question was untypical.

"He wants the Millers to know how bitterly he regrets what happened to their house and how thankful he is that nobody sustained physical injury," he said.