Telford road rage attack left victim with fractured face and bleed on the brain

Stuart McKinven, of Sapphire House, Stafford Park, Telford, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court for a total of six offences relating to two incidents.

The 37-year-old was found guilty of one count of grievous bodily harm (GBH) after a trial earlier this year, and had previously pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, assault by beating, threats to kill, and taking a motor vehicle without consent.

The GBH charge related to the road rage attack, which took place on November 26, 2024, while the remaining charges concerned an incident where McKinven drunkenly assaulted the driver of a Veezu taxi he had called to Greggs on Stafford Park, before taking his vehicle and driving off.

Judge Deni Mathews said McKinven had been “running amok”.

Robert Holt, prosecuting, said that the road-rage incident had taken place on Haygate Road in Telford, at around 4pm.

He explained that a couple had been driving back to the north of England after visiting their daughter when a car, driven by McKinven, appeared driving close behind.

The vehicle made to overtake and then pulled back in, before again moving to overtake, but pulled along side “as if to run them off the road”.

The concerned driver stopped the car, followed by McKinven also pulling over.

The court was told the driver asked what was wrong and McKinven replied by punching him to the face.

As the man fell to the floor, McKinven delivered multiple further blows to his head, as the man was slumped against his own car.

The victim’s wife described the attacker’s arms “moving like pistons”, with the man eventually knocked unconscious.

McKinven could be heard remarking that the driver had “cut me up”.

The victim was taken to the nearby Princess Royal Hospital where they diagnosed multiple fractures to his face and eye sockets, as well as bleeding on the brain.

Police had arrested McKinven at home the same day, with the thug telling officers “I know I have done wrong”.

The court was told of a second shocking incident, around a year later, on November 28, 2025, while McKinven was still on bail for the previous offence.

Mr Holt explained the defendant had called a Veezu taxi to Greggs on Stafford Park.

Due to being drunk and unintelligible when he got in the car the driver had demanded he pay for the fare up front.

The court was told McKinven then punched the driver, who then got out of his own car and was chased by the passenger who was shouting “I will kill you”.

Mr Holt said that with the driver trying to escape McKinven returned to the taxi and drove it off himself.

Police later found it abandoned with the lights on and music playing.

Officers were later called to reports of a drunk man hitting the bonnets of passing cars.

Mr Holt said police attended and found McKinven lying in the street with blood on his face and hands.

The court heard that after being arrested McKinven headbutted a police officer while being booked into custody, and then urinated in the back of a police van when officers tried to take him to hospital to be checked over.

Mr Holt said McKinven had five convictions for six previous offences - including drink driving, drunk and disorderly and actual bodily harm.

Rose Proctor, mitigating, urged the court to take the “extraordinary” step of suspending any custodial sentence, saying that since the 2025 offending McKinven had made remarkable steps to turn his life around.

She said: “It is quite clear that Mr McKinven sober is a complete different character to Mr McKinven drunk”

She said he had taken major steps to address his drinking, adding: “After four dark years he has pulled himself together after disgracing himself thoroughly, he’s done something truly laudable, he’s thrown himself into rehabilitation.”

But Judge Mathews said that the severity of the violence meant only a custodial sentence was appropriate.

Referring to the injuries caused in the road-rage incident he said: “I have seen the photos. He looked like a man who has come out of a boxing ring with a heavyweight boxer. They are vivid and appalling photos.”

The judge told McKinven, “you are a big man”, adding: “You must realise how utterly terrifying it is for a decent man or woman to face violence when they are working as a taxi driver or going home from visiting their daughter and the public must be protected from that.”

McKinven was jailed for a total of four years and eight months - four years for GBH, and eight months combined for the other offences.

He was told he will serve 40 per cent of the sentence, which will also take account of days spent on qualifying curfew. It mean 35 days will be deducted from the sentence.