TWO of the passengers in a Ford Fiesta that crashed near Cardigan, rolled and burst in to flames were sentenced at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Monday.

Five young males used the vehicle - taken from a driveway in Monkton last July - to take a “tour of Pembrokeshire” that ended in the serious accident.

Jack Charge, 19, of Pembroke Street, Pembroke Dock, and James Evans, 19, of Riverside Hostel, Pembroke, were due to stand trial for aggravated vehicle taking as passengers and injury caused by the accident, but changed their pleas to guilty.

Thomas Sheehan, 18, of Strongbow Walk, Pembroke, admitted the charge at an earlier hearing and received an 18 week suspended prison sentence.

A 17-year-old from Pembroke Dock, who cannot be named, admitted involvement in taking the car and being behind the wheel when it hit a hedge and landed on its roof. He was sentenced to a 12 month detention and training order.

A 17-year-old from Pembroke was dealt with outside the court system.

“Charge and Evans said they didn’t know the driver, didn’t realise he was only 16 and didn’t realise the vehicle was stolen,” said prosecutor Ellie Morgan. “They’ve changed their plea today, so that clearly wasn’t the case.”

Ms Morgan said the vehicle was “taken and stashed for a couple of nights” before being driven on a “tour of Pembrokeshire”.

“They used the car to go to a festival in St Davids, then headed towards Cardigan, hitting speeds of up to 90 miles per hour,” she added.

At 1.10am on July 8, emergency services received a report of an accident near a roundabout on the A487.

“All five of these boys were taken away in ambulances. Before that, a lady driver came across the wreck. Evans ran towards her and asked for help. He said he’d managed to pull Charge out of the car. The driver was lying on the verge, and two others were running away. Charge asked her to stay with him. He said he didn’t want to die alone.”

Ms Morgan said Evans suffered deep cuts and bruises. Charge sustained collapsed lungs, three broken vertebrae and facial cuts. He was given a “50/50 chance of survival”. The driver of the car broke his back and was told he might not walk again.

Michael Kelleher, defending Charge, said pleading guilty had been a “difficult decision”.

“He didn’t take the vehicle, he didn’t drive it. He was a back seat passenger,” the solicitor said. “He accepts he allowed himself to be carried in a stolen vehicle. The injuries he suffered taught him a big lesson. It’s given him a completely different outlook. He knows he is lucky to be alive.”

Ian Hopkins, defending Evans, said his client had also been a back seat passenger.

“He had no control of the vehicle. All the boys know they could easily have been killed. When my client rolls up his trouser legs he sees the scars, and they will always be a reminder of what happened.”

Magistrates sentenced Evans to a 12 month community order with a rehabilitation requirement, and a 12 month driving ban. He must pay court costs of £560.

Charge was given a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and disqualified from driving for a year. He must also pay costs of £580.