A PARKING manager who was rammed into a hedge by a road rage driver says he suffers crippling anxiety and screams in his sleep.

       Steven Smith said his mental health was destroyed after he was driven at by motorist Arthur McGhie, who suffers with schizophrenia.

       6

       Mr Smith said his mental health has suffered following the attack Credit: eddie mitchell 6

       Footage was circulated online of the shocking incident

       The ramming incident took place in August last year after the two men had rowed in the street.

       McGhie, 55, had denied attempted murder.

       Her Honour Judge Christine Henson QC, speaking at Lewes Crown Court, Hove, today told McGhie he will be kept in hospital for an indeterminate period of time.

       He could face spending the rest of his life in hospital care.

       McGhie rammed him after fighting with former soldier Mr Smith in the street and punched him in the face as he was trapped in the hedge.

       He was also convicted of assaulting police as they tried to arrest him.

       Shocking footage shows the awful moment Mr Smith was plunged into the hedge.

       He is thrown over the bonnet of McGhie's silver Kia before catapulting into the bush.

       McGhie then ploughs into a metal pole before exiting his vehicle and punching Mr Smith as he struggles in the hedge, before driving off.

       Most read in News

       ‘DIRTY CASH' Andrew may face court over claims ￡15m mansion was bought to launder millions

       NOT COOL 'Distraught' glamour model claims Iceland delivery driver sent her 'creepy' text

       NOVICHOK HORROR I didn’t mean to, but I killed my girlfriend… I’ll never get over it

       SNOW WAY Exact day Brits to be hit by snow as -3C bone chiller hits tomorrow

       The victim said he is a shadow of his former self, telling the court: “Three weeks after my sleep and mindset started to be affected. I find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.

       "I already suffered from anxiety but this situation has exacerbated it.

       "I have to delegate site visits because I do not feel comfortable going out on my own.

       "I know it's taking its toll on my friends and family.

       "My partner has noticed change in me, she has told me that I scream in my sleep, she has noticed I'm drinking a lot more.

       "She has told me I'm getting angry over senseless things. I feel awful inside and out.”

       He added: "I'm afraid I will never get back to the person I once was."

       In a second statement written before the trial, Mr Smith said: "Nearly one year on, I now realise I had no idea how much I would change.”

       Describing himself as a “typical bloke,” Mr Smith said he had tried to ignore his feelings.

       He said he didn’t think he would break down and cry - but when he did that was “he final nail in my emotional coffin”.

       ROAD RAGE ROW

       He added: “On some social media, people were posting comments saying I deserved everything that happened to me. People came up to me asking if I was that guy in the video.

       “I will live with the scars on my mind and in my body. I don't think I'll ever be the same again mentally and physically.

       “I know with the help of my wife I will get through this.”

       Former roadside recovery driver McGhie, 55, originally from Kennoway in Fife has been treated in a secure hospital in Kent since the incident.

       The court heard he has sold his house and will move back to Scotland if he is ever released.

       Her Honour Judge Christine Henson QC told McGhie: "You using your vehicle to strike the victim intending to cause him really serious harm, you using that vehicle as a weapon.

       "Although the physical injuries were thankfully minor, there has been a significant impact on Mr Smith's mental health."

       The court heard McGhie has been suffering from increasingly serious mental health issues since his teens.

       His paranoid delusions became more serious after his long term partner died and he was confined to home during lockdown.

       The judge told McGhie he would be under a hospital order without limit of time.

       Rhodri James, for McGhie, said his chronic mental illness had catastrophic incidents in his life had changed his life entirely.

       "He was furloughed in April and in May his long term partner passed away unexpectedly and his mental health deteriorated."

       6

       Mr Smith was catapulted into the hedge 6

       Arthur McGhie drove at Mr Smith after they rowed in the street 6

       Police at the scene last August Credit: eddie mitchell 6

       The car that was used to ram Mr Smith into the hedge Credit: eddie mitchell