'Cowardly' BMW motorist bizarrely drove at innocent woman in Leeds during argument with his girlfriend

The woman and her friend had been on a bicycle ride and were loading their bikes back into their cars on an industrial estate in Morley, when they noticed Wiktor Ul's silver BMW nearby.

They did not know him, but they noticed he had a female passenger with him. CCTV of the incident, which happened at around 7.30pm on June 14 last year, was played to Leeds Crown Court this week.

The car moved in front of them and the women noticed Ul was filming them on his phone, making them feel uncomfortable.

He then drove round to where they were and stopped and stared at them, before driving quickly towards one of the women and stopping. However, the front of the BMW struck her bike which then collided with her legs.

Ul then reversed and drove off at speed, but they were able to get a quick photo of his registration plate. The 22-year-old was arrested a week later but denied being responsible.

He was quizzed again in November and again denied it, but later pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm.

During a probation report into his behaviour, Ul claimed his foot had slipped on the pedal, which Judge Penelope Belcher refused to accept, calling it "nonsense".

Mitigating, Craig Sutcliffe said he had been having an argument with his girlfriend and lost his temper. He added: "His best point is his guilty plea."

Judge Belcher told Ul: "It's an extraordinary incident. The footage is, quite frankly, extraordinary. There's no understanding as to why this happened.

"You suggest your foot slipped off the pedal, I do not accept that. You had no reason at all to be in that car park and no reason to drive close to those women.

"You drove in anger at the woman and did not have the guts to stay and see if she was alright. It was cowardly in the extreme."

She handed Ul, of Heights Way, Armley, a 20-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. She also gave him 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days. She told him he was "very, very fortunate" not to be jailed.