THREE women left with life changing injuries have spoken out against the devastation caused by a dangerous driver who careered into them.

Owen Paul Shaw, 38, of The Crofts, Hatch Warren has been jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to three counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury and one count of driving under the influence of drugs.

On October 21, 2017 Shelly Roach, with friends Kim Woodbridge and Kathy Heffernan, were heading out to enjoy a night out with friends in Portsmouth.

They were travelling along Cliddesden Lane, when Shaw, travelling in a Ford Fusion, came down the wrong side of the road with no headlights on before causing a near head on collision with Mrs Roach’s Toyota Aygo, causing them to spin out of control.

The injuries suffered by the three woman ranged from a ruptured spleen to broken ribs and a protruding disc, with both Kim and Shelly saying they have now become anxious drivers and fearful to go out at night because of the incident.

Shaw was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday, 5 July where the three women told the court and defendant the impact the collision has had on their lives.

The court heard how Shaw was under the influence of a cocktail of heroin, cocaine and Xanax at the time of the collision. The court also heard that the 38-year-old was a habitual drug user for more than 15 years.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Roach said: “I suffer persistent, intrusive and recurring nightmares of the collision and my sleep has been affected severely due to this.

“I have excessive feelings of anger towards Shaw which consumes me. I am receiving counselling to deal with these feelings along with numerous other emotions I continue to experience. I have been assessed and I am suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

In Ms Woodbridge’s statement, she added: “I have no desire to go out, be it socialising, shopping or carrying out daily tasks.

“I do not even drive to visit my family, something I did before the accident. I have a terrible time with flashbacks which send me into a panic.”

It also transpired that Shaw was driving without insurance, but this issue was not dealt with by the court.

Speaking after sentencing Mrs Roach said: “I am glad he is inside, in a perfect world he would have got longer. It will never be enough.

“It goes to show how serious a crime this is. He may as well have gone out with a loaded gun, that was how much disregard he had for our lives.”