Wirral man convicted of hate crime and driving offences following incident in Prescot

We can confirm that a Wirral man has been convicted of hate crime and driving offences following an incident in Prescot last year.

At around 1.20pm on Saturday 10 August 2024, a BMW driven by Durney failed to stop at a roundabout on Cables Retail Park, causing a second vehicle to brake. A verbal altercation occurred during which Durney made threats and racially abused the victim. Evidence from dashcam also confirmed that Durney had committed driving offences.

Jason Durney, 36, of Wheatland Lane, Wallasey, pleaded guilty to:
Racially aggravated Section 4a Public Order; Careless/Inconsiderate driving; and Using a mobile phone while driving.

Durney was sentenced at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Wednesday 29 January. He was ordered to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge (£1,400 in total), given three penalty points and a Two-Year Restraining Order against the victim.

Detective Inspector Ste O'Neill said: "The victim is pleased with the outcome after what was an extremely unpleasant incident. Durney's behaviour, both towards the victim and through the general manner of his driving, caused distress and ran the risk of further dangerous incidents on the road.

"The victim's dashcam captured valuable evidence to prove our case, and should serve as a further deterrent to anyone who thinks they can behave so disgracefully towards others.

"We will simply not tolerate hate crime in any form across Merseyside so I would encourage anyone who is a victim to come forward and we will thoroughly investigate."

More information on how to report hate crime can be found here: How to report hate crime | Merseyside Police as well as useful links to our partner organisations, including the Anthony Walker Foundation, Daisy Inclusive, and Stop Hate UK. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.