Smirking killer driver ruined happy family day out at Cheshire Oaks

A man whose grandson witnessed a road rage driver swinging a hammer at Cheshire Oaks shoppers before crushing a pedestrian between his car and another vehicle, said: "No child should have to witness such behaviour." Neil Jones, the man behind the wheel, flew into a frenzy after being challenged over the quality of his driving two days before Christmas 2025, in a violent incident which saw him chased and arrested by police armed with tasers. Jones had already been the subject of a police investigation related to his driving after he ran down and killed 'devoted nan' Linda Donnelly , 72, in his speeding Ford Focus in, Bootle , a year before his violent outburst in Ellesmere Port. Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that Mrs Donnelly, known as Lin, was crossing Brewster Street at around 7.45pm on December 12 2024. She had reached the central reservation before continuing to walk into the second section of the dual carriageway where she was struck by Jones' car. Members of her family were in tears in the public gallery as Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, described how a taxi driver who was travelling behind Jones' vehicle "saw something fly into the air" following the collision, while the occupants of another car stopped and administered first aid. The defendant went on to tell witnesses: "I hit her, I hit her. It was an accident." Jones, 48, and of Morningside Road in Norris Green , was said to have been "extremely upset and distressed" and was seen "pacing up and down" while saying "oh my God, oh my God". He was also heard stating while on the phone: "I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened. She just walked in front me." In this call, Jones went on to add that it was "really dark and he couldn't see anything". He told a police officer who attended the incident that he was "driving along, and the next minute a woman just ran out in front of his car and he didn't see her". But Ms Baqri added: "The footage clearly shows that Mrs Donnelly did not run into the road." Paramedics made "considerable efforts at resuscitation" at the roadside, but Mrs Donnelly was pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital as a result of "multiple injuries" sustained during the collision. Jones was arrested and went on to "perform well" during impairment tests at Walton Police Station. He subsequently told detectives under interview that he "simply didn't see Mrs Donnelly in the road". Investigations found that Jones had been travelling at roughly 45mph, or between 39mph and 51mph, on the 30mph road at the time of the fatal crash. Ms Baqri said of this: "It is the crown's case that, if the defendant had been travelling at the legal limit of 30mph, the tragedy could have been avoided." Just over a year later, at around 3.15pm on December 23 2025, retired police officer Martin Alwyn was at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet in Ellesmere Port with his two adults sons and two grandchildren, aged five and nine. But, while crossing the road towards a restaurant, Jones then "drove his car towards them at speed". Ms Baqri told the court: "Mr Alwyn thought that the defendant was going far too fast for that built up area. It was very busy, given the time of day. There were lot of pedestrians milling about. According to Mr Alwyn, the defendant narrowly missed making contact with his son by a matter of inches. The defendant seemed to make no effort to slow down." One of Mr Alwyn's sons, Mark Brough, shouted for Jones to slow down, with Ms Baqri adding: "He had a couple soft toys in his hand, keeping the children occupied. He threw them towards the car. These bounced off the back and hit the floor." Another witness, Mark Kimpton, meanwhile recalled seeing Jones "flying in his car and going so fast that he was within inches of hitting Mr Alwyn and his family". Jones reacted to the cuddly toys being thrown by "slamming on his brakes" and stopping his Ford Focus in a disabled parking space. Ms Baqri said: "In a red mist of rage, he got out his car and approached them. He approached the family group and accused them of having damaged his car. His demeanour was described as aggressive. He looked and acted as though he was up for a fight." Jones was then reported to have shouted towards his victims: "What have you done to my f***ing car? Who the f*** are you? I'll f***ing kick your head in. Don't you dare throw anything at my car or I'll smash your face." Having "got into Mr Alwyn's face", Jones pushed him to the chest, causing him to stumble backwards, before throwing punches at both him and Mr Brough, making contact with the latter's cheek. Members of Mrs Donnelly's family were heard to gasp in court as it was heard that he had been holding his child at the time he was assaulted. With the children becoming "visibly distressed" as a result of the violence, Mr Kimpton attempted to intervene and told Jones to "just leave it and get back in his car". But he instead warned that he was "going to take them all on" and produced a claw hammer after "rummaging around" in his boot . Having brandished the weapon above his head, Jones was said to have "charged towards" Mr Kimpton and swung the instrument towards him "at least twice". Ms Baqri said of this: "Fortunately for Mr Kimpton, the hammer did not make contact. "It would seem that, as quickly as the incident commenced, the defendant seemed to gather his senses and realised the gravity of what he was doing and stopped. He then got back into his car. Because of the furore, security staff attended and surrounded the defendant's car, together with members of the public, in order to detain him. The defendant, feeling that he was trapped or surrounded, reversed his car. "That manoeuvre caused him to collide with another car, which momentarily trapped Mr [Jonathan] Adamson in between the two vehicles. Mr Adamson describes pain shooting through his legs. He told the police that he was trapped for a few seconds. "The defendant then drove forwards but reversed again, such that, once again, Mr Adamson was pinned between the two cars. He shouted and screamed out in pain. The defendant then drove forwards and sped off out of the car park. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who witnessed this incident were alarmed and distressed." When interviewed on this occasion, Jones "sought to blame everybody else" and "claimed that he was the one being attacked and simply had to resort to brandishing the hammer in order to defend himself". In a statement which was read to the court on his behalf during Tuesday's hearing, Mr Alwyn said: "What should have been a happy and memorable family day was instead ruined by the defendant's behaviour and actions. "As both a parent and a grandfather, I felt an immediate and instinctive need to protect my family. It was clear that the incident caused significant distress, particularly to my eldest grandchild. "Seeing the fear and upset in my family, especially in my nine-year-old grandson, has been the most difficult aspect for me to come to terms with. No child should have to witness such behaviour, and the impact it had on him continues to anger and upset me. "I am a retired police officer and, over the course of my career, I have been exposed to many challenging and distressing situations. What occurred that day is not something members of the public should expect to encounter, particularly during what should have been a normal family outing. This has made the experience all the more shocking and unsettling for us all. "I was struck to my chest, which caused pain and discomfort for several hours afterwards. I also felt a significant sense of shock that such an event had taken place whilst I was with my family. I sincerely hope that neither I nor my loved ones ever have to experience anything like this again." Mr Brough meanwhile added in his own statement: "The thing that really shocked me the most was that he attacked and had a go at me whilst I was still holding onto my child. The kids were really shaken up by the incident for quite a while. I only hope that they never have to experience something like that again." Jones has a total of 23 previous convictions for 34 offences, with a "majority for theft" and several for breaches of court orders. He was also caught speeding on five occasions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, while he was handed suspended prison sentences for assaults in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and fined for assaulting two police officers in 2018. Callum Ross, defending, said on his behalf: "He accepts, given his plea, that, ultimately, he is responsible for the tragic death of Mrs Donnelly as a result of his carless driving. To put it very bluntly, he will have to live with that for the rest of his life. "He has to accept that, 12 months later, he commits further offence. Fortunately, no serious injury was caused, but that is perhaps more luck than anything else. He wishes for me to say on his behalf how sorry he is for his actions and how sorry he is for the tragic consequences that are attributable to them. He has, since the Chester offences, surrendered his driving licence to the DVLA. He has no desire to ever drive again. "Your honour will have noted his previous caring responsibilities in relation to his disabled cousin. The defendant hopes, upon release, to resume that role for him. He has four children who he has been seeing regularly, including in custody, albeit plainly that is a difficult set of circumstances for him. Your honour will have noted mental health difficulties, being diagnosed with depression and medicated for it." Jones admitted causing death by careless driving , dangerous driving, making threats with an offensive weapon and two counts of assault. He appeared emotional in the dock at times during the hearing, including wiping his eyes with a tissue, before he was jailed for 51 months. However, he earlier appeared to be smirking in the dock when Judge Simon Medland KC directed that Mr Adamson, a highways worker and armed forces veteran, should be awarded a commendation, saying: "He was instrumental as a bystander in securing the detention of the defendant. He behaved in a selfless, public spirited and courageous way." Judge Medland went on to add in his sentencing remarks: "It was dark because of the time of night and, of course, it was the winter, but there was nothing external to your driving which contributed to the outcome. The careless driving for which I have to sentence you, which caused Mrs Donnelly's death, was that you exceeded the speed limit by about 50%. "But for your driving, there is every reason to suppose that she would be alive today. I accept that you did not intend her the slightest harm. You were not driving dangerously, you were driving carelessly. Because of those features, the statutory maximum for the worst possible type of case after conviction by a jury is five years imprisonment. "I have to sentence you in the context of the available sentences provided by parliament for offences of this nature. I say now that which will be obvious. This court's entire sympathy is with Mrs Donnelly's family and friends. No sentence this court could ever pass is meant to be an equivalent of her life, nor could it ever be. "It is accepted that you have bad antecedents. Particularly relevant are the five speeding offences in the months before you killed Mrs Donnelly. I accept your remorse as being genuine. I take account of the bad delay in the prosecution of this case. "It falls within the context of another similar offence, in many ways, a year later. You were in your car again at Cheshire Oaks a couple of days before Christmas. The place was very, very busy, families taking their children and grandchildren out, amongst whom were Mr Alwyn, Mr Brough and the grandchildren. "You drove far too quickly in very busy circumstances and thereby almost collided with members of Mr Alwyn's family. Instead of simply apologising and driving on, you took the trouble to park up in a disabled bay, get in their faces in a frightening and worrying way, the children no doubt wondering what on Earth was going on as this aggressive man came over to where they were. "You took the trouble to go into the boot of your car, remove a claw hammer and go back over to where they were, then wield the hammer around in circumstances which were such that you put yourself a hair's breadth away from being charged with an attempted grievous bodily harm with intent." Jones was also banned from driving for 51 months and ordered to pass an extended retest. He was meanwhile given restraining orders preventing him from contacting members of Mrs Donnelly's family and his victims in the second incident for seven years.