Teenager locked up for leaving cones on M6

A man who deliberately left two traffic cones in the middle of the M6 and hurled another at a passing car from the hard shoulder has been locked up for 18 months.

Liam Groom, aged 18, planted the cones on Boxing Day last year, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday.

Motorist Garrey Wright was forced to swerve his car to avoid the cones which had been placed at junction eight of the motorway just after midnight.

Mr Michael Taylor, prosecuting, said Groom then threw another cone at Mr Wright's car, was travelling at 55mph, and it hit the bonnet and windscreen.

Mr Wright stopped his vehicle, but as he was speaking to the emergency services on his mobile, the teenager punched him.

Groom, of Whitworth Drive, West Bromwich, admitted causing danger to road users, criminal damage and common assault during a previous hearing at Walsall Magistrates Court.

Ms Elizabeth Power, defending, said Groom accepted his actions had been "irresponsible". "He's aware it could have ended with someone dying," she said. "It was a matter of stupidity."

She said he had been having personal problems and had drunk a bottle of Sambuca and about 12 cans of lager.

"He had no recollection of what he was doing and why he was near the motorway," she added.

Groom, who was also sentenced for breaching a conditional discharge handed to him at Sandwell Magistrates Court last November for harassment, was sentenced to a total of 18 months in a young offenders' institution.