A Felinfach van driver who was caught on camera driving erratically has been jailed after he careered head on into a car near Talsarn.

Appearing before Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, Peter Gilmore, 51, of 26A Bryn Salem, Felinfach, was told by the judge it was 'pure luck' that he had not killed the driver of the other car.

Dashcams had captured Gilmore driving 'erratically' on the A487, almost colliding with a bus near the Llanddeiniol straights before driving around a bend on the wrong side of the road on the B4337 near Talsarn, which was also caught on dashcam.

The court heard that Gilmore was 'flying' on the B4337, coming down the steep incline, when he took a corner on the wrong side of the road and crashed head on into another vehicle, a Hyundai i20, at around 5.25pm on 1 February.

Swansea Crown Court was told that the driver of the other car, Hannah Hutton, suffered serious injuries including a fractured sternum, rib fractures and whiplash.

These have led her to have to give up volunteering work since the collision and has become a very nervous passenger.

Gilmore was found to be slurring his words when the emergency services arrived.

He passed a breathalyser but his saliva tested positive for cannabis.

Later, when he was arrested, Gilmore refused to provide a blood sample when asked.

It was revealed at Swansea Crown Court that Gilmore had been stopped and charged with drug driving earlier that same day.

Along with the dashcam footage near Llanrhystud, Gilmore had been seen striking the kerb and swerving over the central white line, narrowly missing oncoming traffic near a school.

He was described as tailgating larger vehicles and weaving all over the road.

One witness said that he was travelling so close to a recovery vehicle, they thought he was being towed.

The court heard he had 44 previous convictions for 104 offences.

Judge Geraint Walters said that the details of the case were "truly disturbing".

He said it was "frankly remarkable" and "shocking" that Gilmore had chosen to drive after previously being stopped by police when he was "plainly, completely and utterly under the influence".

He added "you knew you were under the influence, of that there can be no doubt".

Ian Ibrahim, for Gilmore, said the defendant left education at the age of 13 because his physically-abusive father wanted him to work in his Tarmac-laying business.

He said Gilmore had been a heroin user for 20 years but had been "clean" of the drug since 2018 following the death of his sister, adding his defendant was remorseful for his "stupidity" on the day in question and for the injuries suffered by the complainant.

Gilmore was sentenced to two years four months in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

For failing to provide a sample he was sentenced to four months to run concurrently. He has also been disqualified from driving for six years and two months.