A VALLEYS father was awarded £25,000 in damages for the psychological trauma he suffered in the aftermath of a car crash in which his daughter and three other teenage girls died.

Terry Jones, 61, claimed damages from Craig Ramshaw, who drove a car which crashed on the Llangynidr moors between Garnlydan and Ebbw Vale on November 2, 2006, for psychiatric injury in the aftermath of the accident.

His daughter, 16-year-old Louise, and friends Katie Roberts, Danielle Caswell, both 15, and Kayleigh Parry, 16, had been in the car and died in the crash. Mr Ramshawwas 17 at the time.

Now judge Judge Seys Llewellyn, sitting at Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, has awarded Mr Jones, of Garnlydan, £25,000 for post traumatic stress disorder.

In his ruling, the judge said: “It needs to be stated, with emphasis, that no monetary award can compensate for the loss of his daughter.

“This is no, in law, or remotely in fact, a valuation for the loss of his daughter.”

The court heard earlier in the year from psychiatrist Dr David Thomas that Mr Jones had vivid nightmares about the crash scene and the identification of Louise’ body at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil.

He told the court that the events surrounding his daughter’s death led to Mr Jones suffering post traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Ramshaw’s defence team had argued that Mr Jones’ symptoms resulted from the grief and sorrow of losing his daughter.

But Judge Seys Llewellyn said the case fell within the category of moderately severe psychiatric damage.

Under the guidelines, although professional help could help bring some improvement, “the effects are still likely to cause significant disability for the foreseeable future.”

It is understood that the driver’s insurance company would pay the compensation.

Last night, after the ruling was released, Mr Jones told the Argus he was pleased the court had ruled in his favour, but still cannot sleep at night and finds certain times of the year like birthdays very difficult.