Digger driver faces jail for £50,000 drunken rampage in stolen JCB when he smashed house and car in bitter family bust-up before being arrested at McDonald’s drive-thru
- Mark Holmes, 55, crashed the vintage JCB into a modern house in Gwent
- His £50,000 rampage was part of an ongoing family feud, a court was told
- Holmes was remanded in custody over Christmas pending sentencing next year
- He admitted a string of driving offences, stealing the JCB and a charge of battery
An excavator driver has been remanded in custody over Christmas after he admitted drunkenly stealing a vintage JCB and smashing it into a house and two cars before continuing to McDonald’s for a burger.
Mark Holmes, 55, crashed the yellow heavy-duty machine into the modern brick house in the Blackwood area of Gwent, South Wales, belonging to victim Paula Brown in a family feud.
Neighbours watched in shock as the huge digger repeatedly backed up before lurching into the home hitting its porch.
Footage filmed by workmen in a nearby van shows Holmes holding his phone calmly behind the wheel of the JCB as he carries out the attack.
Mark Holmes, 55, used the vintage JCB to crash into Paula Brown’s home in Gwent in November as part of an ongoing family feud
During the rampage, Holmes also smashed into Ms Brown’s Ford Focus, pictured, attempting to turn it onto its roof
A voice from the van can be heard saying: ‘Got it all on film for you, alright mate? Got it all on film. F***ing d***head, what’s he f***ing doing? F***ing joke.’
Another voice says: ‘Get his registration.’
After the destruction Holmes was seen reversing before driving away from the modern estate towards a McDonald’s restaurant.
A court heard Holmes also hit Ms Brown’s silver Ford Focus and blue Ford Fiesta cars while driving over the drink drive limit.
Holmes was finally arrested a mile away after driving to a McDonalds drive-thru in Blackwood, Gwent, on November 8.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Holmes also assaulted Ms Brown during the JCB rampage as part of a bitter family feud.
A Ford Fiesta, pictured, as also damaged by Holmes during November’s terrifying incident
A group of nearby builders filmed the shocking incident which has seen Holmes remanded in custody for sentencing on January 12, 2023
It is estimated Holmes caused some £50,000 of damage during his drunken rampage
Holmes, of Penybryn, Caerphilly, has now pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, damaging property, dangerous driving and drink driving.
He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm – but admitted the lesser charge of battery.
Judge Recorder Mark Cotter KC adjourned the sentencing for January 12, 2023 for pre-sentence reports.
He said: ‘It’s very much in your interest to co-operate with probation.’
At one state a man attempted to remonstrate with Holmes as he continued his rampage
Holmes was remanded in custody and a interim driving disqualification order was put in place.
In September 2021, a Turkish digger driver went on a rampage at a coal mine causing significant damage.
In July 2021, a German construction worker used a large Volvo excavator to cause more than £400,000 worth of damage to an apartment complex in a row over wages.
In September 2019, drunken Darren Verity used his excavator to smash up his employer’s £100,000 Range Rover and a nearby HGV truck. The shocking incident was captured on the firm’s CCTV system which was later played in Bradford Crown Court before Verity was jailed for 14 months in November 2020.
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