A FATHER of three says he will never forgive his former best friend after he left him seriously injured in the wreckage of his car, fleeing the scene.

Christopher Williams, 27, says he still suffers from night terrors and has short term memory loss caused by brain damage after the crash on Cwmbran Drive.

On April 11 last year, Jesse Farthing, 28, was driving a Subaru Impreza along the road, when he lost control, crashing near a roundabout.

Mr Williams, a passenger in the back seat of the car, was seriously injured and unconscious, but Farthing fled from the scene.

At Newport Crown Court, Farthing, of Park Close, Henllys, was jailed for three years and six months and banned from driving for six years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

After the hearing, Mr Williams, from St Dials, Cwmbran, said: “I can’t believe that he left me as he didn’t know if I was dead.

“I can’t forgive him for what he did to me and for what he put my family through.

“My words do not come out as I want them too, which is frustrating, and just thinking leaves me exhausted. Previously I worked in a factory but I can’t see me working again – my life’s messed up.”

Mr Williams said his friend of six years, Farthing, had picked him up from another friend’s house and he was sitting behind the passenger seat.

He said: “I was texting on my phone when I felt the car veer. I looked up and saw the side of the road coming towards us and I thought I was dead.”

The crash knocked him unconscious, and he woke up in the Royal Gwent Hospital three days later.

Police estimate that the car was travelling between 60 - 70mph in a 30mph area when the crash happened at 8.11pm.

Watching the crash unfold were siblings, Cerys and Nathan Morgan, from Sebastopol.

Miss Morgan, 18, said she was driving along the road, when Farthing’s car sped past her, and they watched as the car lost control.

Mr Morgan, 22, said: “It was like watching a movie. Cerys parked up and I just ran over.

“I used to be a cadet when I was younger, so I think that just kicked in.”

He said Farthing had climbed out of the car before fleeing the scene. Mr Morgan climbed into the back of the car and tried to get a response from Mr Williams, whose face was covered in blood, while Miss Morgan called for an ambulance.

The fire service had to cut the roof off the car so that Mr Williams could be removed.

Mr Williams lost 11 teeth, suffered a triple jaw fracture, which he underwent an operation to correct and fractured his skull.

His right eye now has poor vision and his right ear has severe hearing loss.

His mum Carol described his recovery as slow, and when he left hospital after 15 days, he couldn’t even recall his own children’s names.

She said: “It’s frustrating to watch him struggling now, but he is here and that is the main thing.”

Mr Williams said that he can’t thank the Morgans enough for saving his life.

Also speaking after the case, Detective Inspector Alun Davies said: ‘This was a particularly difficult case to bring to court, dealing with an offender who showed no remorse.

“The sentence hopefully will give some comfort to the family.”