A 24 year old man has been jailed for what a judge condemned as an “atrocious piece of driving” on the A40 between Haverfordwest and Fishguard.

Recorder John Jenkins said Dean Clive Evans had shown contempt for other road users when he got behind the wheel following a row with his partner.

Swansea Crown Court heard how Evans, of Cromwell Road, Milford Haven, had made repeated attempts to pass a lorry on the A40, darting in and out from behind the HGV as he looked for a gap in the traffic.

The truck driver described the car as being “driven like a lunatic”.

When he eventually passed the lorry — which was carrying a full load of logs — near the Corner Piece Inn, Evans made obscene gestures to the driver then pulled in abruptly, forcing the lorry to brake sharply.

Later, when both vehicles had stopped in a lay bay, Evans drove towards the lorry driver forcing him to “flatten himself” against the side of his trailer as Evans’s VW Golf “skimmed” past him, the court was told.

A little further along the A40 Evans then drove close to a Pembrokeshire Council worker who was cutting the grass on the verge before performing a handbrake turn in the middle of the road and driving back towards the lorry while holding a wheel brace.

A short time later Evans was seen again driving “aggressively and erratically” by another motorist who called the police.

Evans had previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on October 17 last year when he appeared for sentencing.

The court was told he had rowed with his girlfriend — who is expecting their child in July — on the morning of the incident, and was “embarrassed” about how he had subsequently behaved.

Sentencing him to eight months in prison, Recorder Jenkins said: “This was an atrocious piece of driving over a long period.

"You showed contempt for other road users and put them at risk. You were quite plainly a menace on the roads on this occasion.”