Neil Jones fled Coliseum Shopping Park after he trapped a man between two cars in a terrifying road rage incident witnessed by young children out with their families
A man who assaulted shoppers and narrowly avoided mowing down children during a road rage incident at a retail park just two days before Christmas has been jailed.
At around 3pm on 23 December 2025 a family had been walking across the pedestrian crossing at the Coliseum Shopping Park off Coliseum Way when Neil Jones, of Morningside Road, Liverpool, sped towards them narrowly missing one of the children.
One of the adults shouted at the car to slow down and threw two soft toys which hit the back of the car.
Angered by the exchange Jones pulled into a disabled parking bay and got out of his vehicle. He shouted at the man accusing him of damaging his car and squaring up to him. Jones then pushed him in the chest.
The man pushed him back to create space and two members of the public approached to try and diffuse the situation. Jones then went to the boot of his car to retrieve a red claw hammer and brandished it at the man he had assaulted and then turned on another member of the public.
He then went back to his car and locked himself inside. Other members of the public surrounded the vehicle to try and prevent him from leaving while a security guard tried to break Jones’s door window to try and get him out.
Jones reversed his vehicle and crashed into another trapping a man between two vehicles. He then managed to drive away.
A witness was able to give officers who turned up at the scene the car’s registration number and Jones was subsequently stopped by Roads and Crime Unit officers. They spotted the damage to the rear of the car and he was arrested.
Jones, of Morningside Road, Liverpool, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday 28 July 2026 to be sentenced after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, assault by beating, common assault, and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place.
The 48-year-old was jailed for two years and three months. He was also sentenced to an additional two years for an unrelated Merseyside Police case of causing death by careless driving, meaning his total sentence is one of 51 months.
DC Jason Smith said: “Jones was prepared to go to trial but once the jury was sworn in there must have been a dawning realisation that despite his protests of innocence his outrageous behaviour was witnessed by many and he had no choice but to change his plea to guilty.
“Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in this highly volatile situation, but for all those involved it was a frightening experience where they had no idea whether this was going to escalate into a dangerously violent conclusion. It is not what you should have to expect to encounter when Christmas shopping with your family.”
