A MAN has been sentenced after a crash caused by a motorcyclist chasing down a van driver to swear at him.

Terry Hammond, 43, of Boscawen Gardens, Braintree was riding his black Yamaha motorbike in Church Road, Witham, on February 20 when he was overtaken by a white van.

The van cut in sharply in front of the motorbike causing Hammond to brake to avoid a crash.

Hammond caught up to the van and rode on the other side of the road on a blind bend to talk to the van driver through the window.

A white Mercedes van was travelling in the other direction and collided with Hammond head on.

Hammond was filming the footage on his GoPro camera at the time so the whole incident was recorded. He was flown to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge by air ambulance and suffered life-changing injuries.

The 57-year-old man who was driving the van suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Hammond originally pleaded not guilty at Colchester Magistrates’ Court and was given a date of Wednesday, July 5 to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court where he changed his plea to guilty.

He was given a three month community order with a residence condition for three months, disqualified from driving for 12 months with an extended retest to be taken and ordered to pay costs of £50.

The 39-year-old driver of the white van that originally overtook Hammond on his motorbike, was contacted by officers and given a driver improvement scheme.

Investigating officer Pc Allan Discombe of Stanway Roads Policing Unit said: “Altercations between motorists are unfortunately a common occurrence.

"Our advice would be to not react and instead contact police on 101 with the registration plate of the car that has driven dangerously or carelessly.

"If you have dash cam footage of the incident please email this to driving.complaints@essex.pnn.police.uk.

"We can then investigate the claims further and take any necessary action."