A TEENAGE Range Rover driver who forced two cyclists off a country road near Andover has been jailed.

Recorder of Salisbury, Judge Andrew Barnett, told Callum Jake Hall that he would be “failing in his duty” if he didn’t impose an immediate custodial sentence when he appeared in Winchester Crown Court on Friday, August 18.

The court heard how the 19-year-old had originally pleaded not guilty to the incident, which saw one cyclist come off his bike and sustain bruising, but was later found guilty by a jury following a trial.

In sentencing the young father to six months in a young offender institution, Judge Barnett described the events of October 30 last year when Hall encountered the two cyclists at Charlton Down.

He said: “On the day in question you were driving your father’s Range Rover, a big car, along a country road near Andover.

“You came upon two cyclists and in your view they were hogging the road and you overtook them.

“There was an exchange of views. If you had left it there nothing would have come of it.”

He added: “But you didn’t. You stopped your car, the cyclists caught up with you and then what happened is that you drove alongside them edging them onto the verge.

“It was quite clear that you had lost control of yourself and lost control of your temper.”

The court heard how one of the drivers was pushed off the road.

Judge Barnett added: “He hit the kerb, came off the cycle and suffered bruising. The potential harm is considerable if you had crushed one or both of them.”

During the hearing, Hall, of Bishopswood Road, Tadley, also pleaded guilty to failing to stop and failing to report an accident.

The court further heard that the self-employed tree surgeon has a “catalogue” of previous convictions.

Nathalie Carter, defending Hall, described how he is at a “turning point in his life” after he has incurred a number of suspended sentences, including an eight month suspended sentence for possession of false currency, since the dangerous driving charge.

She told the court that in recent months he has been cycling to work in preparation for being disqualified from driving and he has also been undertaking unpaid work in the community along with a building better relationships course.

Miss Carter said: “He does come across as a young man who is frustrated, who doesn’t express himself as well as he would like to. He has got so much potential and it would be a waste if he was given an immediate custodial sentence.

“He has a family. His partner is the mother of his 18-month-old son and he has another child due in February. He is currently self-employed as a tree surgeon and he is undergoing training to use more technical machinery.

“He is a young man frustrated with the situation he finds himself in.

“He is a young man with a lot of capabilities, he can build a wall, erect a fence, build a patio.

“This is a turning point in his life. He is 19-years-old, he does have responsibilities and he does have skills.”

Sentencing Hall to six months in prison Judge Barnett also disqualified him from holding a licence for two years and three months, at the end of which he will need to take an extended test.

Passing sentence he said: "You have responsibilities and you have a job.

“But I would be failing in my duty if I didn’t impose an immediate custodial sentence for that appalling driving.”