AN UNLICENSED tractor driver involved in a crash in Newport in which two young sisters were seriously injured, persuaded his partner to tell police she had been at the wheel.

But Sam Williams’ plan fell apart after Victoria Court arrived at the scene smartly dressed and in high heels – and witnesses contradicted their hastily concocted tale.

Newport Crown Court was told that Williams, 34, of Gwladys Place, Caerleon, was not to blame for the crash, at the junction of Usk Way and Frederick Street, on the evening of December 6 last year.

But he should not have been driving, as he had had his licence revoked.

Williams was jailed for eight months, and Court – of the same address – for six months, with her sentence being suspended for two years, after each pleaded guilty to committing an act intending to pervert the course of justice.

Williams also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

Prosecuting counsel Ian Colvin told the court that Williams was driving the tractor having been working on a farm that day at Cefn Mably, between Newport and Cardiff.

“When he approached the junction of Usk Way and Frederick Street, there was a car in the oncoming lane waiting to turn right,” said Mr Colvin.

“The car pulled in front of Sam Williams’ tractor. He was not in a position to stop. He was not to blame, the collision could not be avoided.”

The passengers in the car, its driver’s 12- and 14-year-old daughters, suffered serious injuries, from which they are still recovering.

Mr Colvin said Williams did not have a licence and phoned Court, who arrived at the scene with their children. One witness recalled Court saying that she had been driving, not Williams, and that she had had to pick up their girls, and had come back.

“Another witness was clear in his mind that he saw Sam Williams (driving),” said Mr Colvin, who added that the witness became “very agitated” upon hearing Court say she had been behind the wheel.

Williams and Court each gave accounts to the police that put Court at the wheel, but a couple of hours later, Williams admitted it had been him.

Williams’ defence counsel Andrew Taylor said this had been an “extremely unsophisticated series of representations”.

“Victoria Court had been at home. She arrived in high heels and smartly dressed,” he said.

“This was not the style of clothing one would wear for muck-spreading in the Cefn Mably area.”

He stressed that Williams, though not lawfully on the road, was not a disqualified driver, and had himself been in a “catastrophic” road crash 18 years ago, suffering injuries the effects of which remain with him today.

“The plan was for him to drive the tractor on farmland. The tractor was hired, had to be taken back, and foolishly he decided he could do that,” said Mr Taylor, who added that Williams had been driving “sensibly and carefully” and the car driver had “taken a chance.”

“It was a very heavy impact. There was screaming. He thought there were fatalities. He suffers post-traumatic stress from his accident and went into a fit of panic, thinking he may have killed someone or been in the wrong.

“He contacted Miss Court by phone and asked her to come to the scene as he was beside himself.

“A plan was hatched by Mr Williams that she suggest she was the driver. He was traumatised. He simply did not think straight, and he takes full responsibility for getting his partner involved in this.”

For Court, defence counsel Gareth Williams said she knew Williams’ mental health was “fragile” and was worried by how the incident would affect him.

“She foolishly went along with it, because she was overawed by what had gone on,” said Mr Williams.

The judge, Recorder Caroline Rees, accepted the pair’s guilty pleas as signs of remorse, but added that though their deception had been shortlived, “you had the chance to put things right and you did not”.

“You through your lies sought to frustrate the investigation into a very serious road traffic collision,” she said.