LIVE: Woman who seriously injured man in Llandudno hit-and-run to be sentenced

Judge Nicola Saffman briefly recapped the entire case and told Brown she could stay sat down as she did so. She said that there was clear evidence of her drunkenness through CCTV of her in the town centre painting a crystal clear picture. She told the defendant that she cannot ignore the fact that she fled the scene of two accidents within the short space of time that she got behind the wheel and the horrific injuries that continue to weigh on the Davies family as Mark continues a journey to recovery that may never complete.

The judge begins weighing up all the factors that go into making her final decision about the fate of Brown this morning. She went on to put on record her concerns about the second charge, following the hit and run incident, and that the current charge will limit her powers of sentencing.

Brown is a young woman and mother that does display genuine remorse, said Ms Judge. The defence offer up a “plethora” of character references from fellow registered nurses that worked alongside the defendant who will unlikely be able to work in that field again.

The court heard that the defendant, though her practice in hospital wings, will know all to well the physical impact that the trauma of injuries and round-the-clock care can come from incidents like this. She will not understand the phycological impact that only those sadly in shoes like Leanne Davies and her family will.

It is half-term in Wales, the court was told, and Brown’s daughter watched this morning as her mother left the house with a bag packed and prepared for the chance of prison. “The family want justice”, said Ms Judge, after outlining the fact that Brown’s sentence will fall far short of what the Davies’ believe is justified.

The defence continue by imploring the judge to follow an alternative course of action that will provide Brown with support following the “stupid” choices she made that night. Ms Judge wanted to stress that her client did plead guilty at the first opportunity in the lower courts meaning her starting point for sentence will already be reduced below the two-year threshold where suspended sentences are not a consideration.

“The woman on January 28 is not the true Charlotte Brown,” said Ms Judge. If prison is considered then it would be “short”, Ms Judge said quite frankly. Brown, who has ADHD as identified through court-ordered reports, was deemed to be a “vulnerable woman” were she to enter a prison cell.

Lisa Judge, defending Brown, stands to defend her client. She accepts that Brown’s remorse will “fall as empty words” to the Davies’ family who had a dad that left that evening for a night out in Llandudno who “didn’t come home that night” as the same man they continue to love and care for.

The defence said there is “no issue or dispute” that these injuries to Mr Davies are “catastrophic”. Ms Judge acknowledges that the judge is “hampered” in her sentencing ability due to the charging decision in Brown’s case as careless driving as opposed to the much more serious alternative – dangerous driving.

She continues by outlining the legal guidelines that the judge must follow. Ms Judge went on to say that she does not envy Judge Saffman’s position this morning when coming to a final decision about the fate of her client.

Mr Wyn Williams said that the victim didn’t come home to his family until late August but continues to need treatment for the ongoing repercussions of the injuries he sustained that night. There are doubts he will ever fully recover from these injuries, said the prosecutor.

Barbara Williams, the mother of Mark Davies, said in her statement she was babysitting her grandchildren on that January evening when their lives “changed forever”. She said that she stayed up all night after her son had been run down by Brown.

She said that her son was recovering “slowly but surely” saying that his “determination” wouldn’t let him give up. She also branded Brown “disgusting” for getting into her “killing machine” of a car whilst drunk.

“Mark Davies is not just a name on a medical record or court document,” said his wife Leanne through a solicitor-read statement. She described him as a loving father to three boys as well as a husband, son, brother and friend to many.

Leanne branded her husband as “almost superhuman” when describing how Mark was a fit and healthy avid runner that completed multiple races. It was a stark contrast to “sat on critical care ward and told [Mark] may not survive”.

“We are just normal people with normal lives,” Leanne said. She branded Brown’s choice to get behind the wheel drunk as a “selfish choice that changed everything forever”.

She described the torturous pain of balancing family life following the incident on January 28 and the uphill struggle that was Mark’s recovery. Leanne wiped tears away when her statement got to the part when her young son asked if “dad was going to die”.

“How can you be the cause of this and walk away?”, she asks Brown. “I believe in life we make choices and we have to live with those consequences”.

The judge said these are the “most serious injuries” she’d ever seen in a case of this type.

The prosecutor repeated the list of injuries that Mr Davies sustained including a “traumatic brain injury”, a bleed to the brain as well as multiple facial fractures. He was also said to have suffered “degloving” of both thighs which the judge said was “the most painful thing imaginable”.

Mr Davies required skin grafts and had compromised speech and language for some time following on from the incident, owing to the brain injuries.

In interview with the police, following her arrest, Brown provided the cops with a prepared statement which included that she was “devastated” by her behaviour, adding that it went “against everything [she’d] do in [her] normal life”.

She accepted that an “apology is never going to be acceptable” but offers one nonetheless. She claimed having no memory of what happened outside the court when she was pulled from the upside-down vehicle.

Due to his condition, the prosecutor stressed that Mr Davies has been unable to attend court due to his injuries and face the woman who caused the situation. Mr Wyn Williams said his wife, mother and mother-in-law have all provided victim impact statements on his behalf.

She had been at a birthday gathering earlier that January evening. She had been caught on CCTV in the seaside town centre as “clearly unsteady on her feet” and had also been involved in an incident at Club 147 which saw her ejected from the nightclub.

The judge is then told about the crash itself that saw the self-employed kitchen designer and fitter flung into the air and left at the roadside whilst Brown continued into Llandudno town centre. She later crashed outside the Magistrates Court building – close to the Asda supermarket and M&S.

Mr Wyn Williams tells the judge that Brown crashed into Mark Davies, now aged 48. He suffered life-changing injuries, the court heard, including loss of the use of his right arm and is unable to speak.

He had been under the care of specialists until the summer months but has been able to return home to his wife Leanne and their three children.

Alongside the incident involving Mr Davies, Brown continued with her drunken drive through the Llandudno town centre and flipped her car just outside the court where she admitted to her crimes. The judge is referred to images taken at the scene like the one below that NorthWalesLive had at the time of the incident in January.

Charlotte Brown confirms her previous appearance at Llandudno Court before sitting down. The prosecutor John Wyn Williams begins to outline the case.

Five people have taken seats in the jury bench – these are thought to be Mr Davies’ family. A final announcement has been made over the loudspeaker system for everyone concerned in the case knows to be in the courtroom.

The case will be starting up very soon. Court staff and legal representatives are taking their places before the judge arrives.

Brown has not appeared on the list of video link participants so she must be appearing in-person to learn her fate. We are waiting for the judge to enter the court so that the sentencing can start but the court staff have just informed us that the case will start slightly later than planned at 10.10am.

We are attending the sentencing via a video link into the courtroom before Her Honour Judge Nicola Saffman today. The proceedings are meant to start no earlier than 10am this morning.

Other members of the press are present for the result of this case as well. We are unable to see who else is in the room with us due to the camera angle.

Back in August, at a brief hearing in Llandudno Llandudno Magistrates Court, Brown admitted to being almost three and a half times over the legal drink drive limit when she caused two serious accidents within minutes of each other late at night in January 2023.

During this dangerous journey, the 34-year-old hit pedestrian Mark Davies at about 40mph with her black Volkswagen Polo whilst he was on his way home from a night out. The careless driving only ended after she managed to flip her car on its roof just outisdethe town centre.

Mr Davies miraculously survived but will suffer “for years to come”, a court previously heard, because of his multiple injuries. It was said that he may never fully recover in some aspects.

Hello, I’ll be providing you with LIVE updates as the sentencing of Charlotte Brown gets underway this morning at Caernarfon Crown Court. Brown, of Cysgod Y Castell in Llandudno Junction, faces charges of drink driving, causing serious injury by careless driving and failing to stop after a road accident.