A spurned lover turned to drinking before taking his mother's car and smashing it into a Swalecliffe shop – called Serenity.

Aaron Young, 24, had two friends in the Peugeot when it careered into the beauty salon, in St John's Road, causing an estimated £50,000 of damage.

The car ended up on its side and wrecked the shop front, sending stock flying and smearing the walls with brown fence paint that spilled from the car boot.

But amazingly Young, of Pier Avenue, Herne Bay, and his friends walked away without a scratch – leaving behind the devastating wreckage.

Young has now been jailed for 14 months after admitting aggravated vehicle taking and driving without insurance and at almost twice the drink-drive limit.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how he began drinking with his breakfast after a bust up with his girlfriend.

The jobless painter and decorator then downed vodkas during the day and beer before "doing a line of coke".

His barrister, Gary Rutter, told the court: "He had had an argument with his girlfriend and started drinking.

"In a moment of madness he decided to take the car, knowing he didn't have permission and knowing he had no insurance.

"He compounded that by trying to show off to his friends in the vehicle.

"He had been speeding when he hit a traffic island and the vehicle turned over, causing this damage. He is now thoroughly ashamed of himself."

Prosecutor Donna East said the damage to the shop was so severe that owner Rebecca Nutt had to close the business for 10 days in February and was expecting to shut for another week pending structural repairs.

She said: "For Ms Nutt, who had built up the business for the past nine years, the effects have been devastating. The impact of the vehicle was so great that it moved a pillar and made the building unsafe.

"She was called out on the night of the crash and found the car on its side, three large panes of glass smashed, all the stock sent careering through the shop and nail varnish everywhere."

Judge Simon James jailed Young and banned him from driving for three years.

He told him: "You took your mother's car without her permission, under the influence of alcohol and drove at speed through a residential area.

"Mercifully, the premises were empty. Had it been open, there is little doubt serious injury, if not death, would have resulted.

"It is a miracle that no one sustained serious injury."

Judge James added: "You deliberately and consciously put others at considerable risk when you behaved stupidly, recklessly and in an immature way.

"This was a monumentally selfish course of conduct because you were only wrapped up in your own world and considering your own problems.

"You gave no thought to the consequences for others of your actions."

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