Porthcawl nightclub crash driver Ryan Ford is jailed Published duration 11 December 2015

image copyright South Wales Police

A man has been jailed for seriously injuring six people when his car crashed into a nightclub smoking shelter during a police chase.

Ryan Ford, 24, of Porthcawl, Bridgend county, lost control of an Audi A4 outside Streets nightclub in the seaside town in October.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the scene was "carnage with bodies on the floor".

Ford admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen and driving without insurance.

He was jailed for three years and 10 months and has been banned from driving for six years.

media caption CCTV footage shows a police van chasing Ford's car, and later the vehicle crashing into the shelter

image caption Police cordoned off the area after the incident at John Street, Porthcawl, in the early hours of 25 October

image copyright Tom Dalton | Wales News Service image caption Glamorgan cricketer Tom Dalton, 19, was among the injured

A total of 21 people were injured in the crash, six of them seriously, who all required surgery, mainly for broken legs.

Gareth James, prosecuting, said Ford's girlfriend, a passenger in the car at the time, made a frantic phone call to a friend while the car was being chased by police.

Mr James said she was screaming to her friend and called out for help, saying Ford was not "thinking about other people, just thinking about himself".

One witness said people were screaming and running around after the crash, while another said Ford smelled strongly of alcohol and "looked intoxicated", the court heard.

Sentencing Ford, Recorder of Cardiff Eleri Rees said: "Some of the victims suffered life changing injuries and it was simply a miracle nobody was killed."

Police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, is investigating what police action was taken before the crash happened and whether the relevant procedures were followed.