A teenager who left two boys seriously injured when he smashed his car into the front of a pizza restaurant was today warned he could be jailed.

John Beacham had only passed his driving test a few weeks before the horror smash next to Bath Road, Chippenham, in August 2005.

But the 18-year-old lost control of his vehicle and sent the victims, who were aged 15 and 16 at the time, through the window of the Pizza Hut restaurant.

Beacham had denied a charge of dangerous driving but on the morning of his trial at Swindon Crown Court he changed his plea to guilty.

The court was told that he admitted the charge on the basis that the dangerous driving related to just the crash and not what happened before.

It had been alleged he had been screeching round the car park doing 'handbrake turns' in the lead up to the smash on the morning of Tuesday, August 9, 2005.

Rosie Collins, defending, said: "It relates to the actual accident itself, which is the last part of the driving.

"Obviously the worst part as it resulted in the injuries. His plea is restricted to that part."

She said at the time of the accident he was still only 17 years old and very inexperienced behind the wheel.

"He had only been driving, well, he passed his test a matter of weeks before. He had only a few weeks' post test experience. He was a very inexperienced driver," she said.

Andrew MacFarlane, prosecuting, said: "The Crown accepts his dangerous driving caused the injuries to the persons involved and the damage to the building."

Beacham, of Warwick Close, Chippenham admitted a charge of dangerous driving.

At an earlier hearing the court heard that after the crash Beacham called home saying 'Mum, I have gone through a window. I was driving too fast. It was my fault.' Adjourning the case for reports Judge Douglas Field said: "Bearing in mind the injuries and what happened the pre-sentence report must consider all options."

He released Beacham on bail to Friday, June 1 when the teenager is due to face sentence.

Pals Stephen Flexer, who was 16 years old at the time, and Chris Parsons, 15, suffered serious injuries in the accident.

Stephen was airlifted to the Bath Royal United Hospital with a broken pelvis, elbow, jaw and suffered severe cuts to his face and abdomen.

He was transferred to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where he underwent plastic surgery to his arm and abdomen.

Chris received serious head injuries, including a severed artery in the crash. He underwent surgery to stitch his left ear back on.

The teenagers were among a group of mates who were sat on the pavement outside the Pizza Hut at the time of the incident.


Stephen, who is now 18, said: "I was very surprised to hear him change his plea, especially because I had really geared myself up to take the witness stand and give evidence.

"Obviously it's not all over yet but I am really looking forward with just being able to get on with things."

Stephen, an A-Level student at Sheldon School, took time off from exam revision today as he prepared to speak at the trial.

The teenager is studying maths, further maths, economics and history and is now hoping to get back to his revision so he can get a job in finance after university.

Despite his bright future, the talented young musician suffered irreparable nerve damage in his arm meaning he cannot play the piano as well as he used to.

He said: "It has been a long wait and although I know there are some things that will never be the way they were, at least I can just move on now and put this behind me."