Man jailed for driving his car at a peacemaker and leaving him with life-changing injuries.

A man has been given an 18-year sentence after driving his car at a man who had been trying to break up a fight in a street in County Durham.

Hugh Holmes, 36, of Tudhoe Moor, Spennymoor, Durham drove a Renault Megane at the victim and James Cowie, 28, of Kilburn Street, Shildon, Durham, in Faraday Street in Ferryhill on 19 December last year.

Holmes and Cowie had begun fighting a short time earlier after Holmes girlfriend, who’d been a passenger in the car, claimed the people in Cowie’s van had been offensive to her.

The Crown Prosecution Service charged Holmes with a S18 Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent. He offered several times to plead to the lesser charge of a causing serious injury by dangerous driving but the CPS refused to accept that as it was not felt that charge fully reflected the seriousness of his offending.

On 27 January 2025 at Teeside Crown Court, Cowie pleaded guilty to affray. Holmes pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving without insurance.  But he refused to plead to the Section 18 offence.

The CPS pursued a trial on the more serious charge and on 11 June 2025, at Teeside Crown Court, a jury found him guilty.

On 30 July 2025, at Teeside Crown Court, Holmes was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with an extended license period of 3 years. He has been disqualified from driving for 15 years and an indefinite restraining order was imposed.

Cowie was sentenced to 8 Months immediate imprisonment, which is now considered served because of the time he has spent remanded in custody.

On the day of the incident , Holmes pulled over and approached Cowie who was standing alongside his van. He threw a punch at Cowie who ducked. Cowie then punched Holmes to the ground and continued to punch and kick him.

Holmes managed to get up and went back to his vehicle and drove away. Cowie began punching a male passenger in Holmes’ car. The victim in this case, an innocent bystander, approached Cowie and tried to stop the fighting and encouraged Cowie to get back in his vehicle, which he did but then got out again.

While Cowie and the victim were talking, Holmes drove his vehicle straight at them. Cowie managed to jump out of the way but the victim was hit and then jammed between Holmes’ car and Cowie’s van.

He suffered traumatic brain injuries for which he received seven months hospital treatment.

Cowie and Holmes were arrested at the scene. It came to light that Holmes had a previous conviction for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. In that incident he had left his passenger with serious injuries after driving his van off a bridge.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Traynor for CPS Northeast said: 

“Hugh Holmes is a dangerous, serial offender who has learned nothing from the punishments that have been imposed on him over many years.

“The row in this latest incident led to lifechanging injuries for a man who had simply tried to calm Cowie and Holmes down and stop them fighting.

“Holmes made the deliberate decision to walk away from a fist fight and get into his car and aim it at Cowie, reckless as to whether it hit the victim or not.

“The Crown Prosecution Service was determined to bring Holmes to justice for the full extent of his offending on that day.

“He was found guilty on the more serious charge and has been given a very long jail term indeed.

“We hope this is of some consolation to the victim and his family who have been devastated by the events of that day.”