A 43-year-old man from Blaengwynfi has been jailed for four years and four months after a violent revenge attack against his ex-partner that ended with armed officers arresting him on a mountainside above the Afan Valley.
David Smith, of Gwynfi Street, Blaengwynfi, pleaded guilty at Swansea Crown Court to stalking, two counts of possession of a bladed article, dangerous driving, criminal damage, arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered, and sending a menacing message.
“Used his car as a weapon”
The court heard Smith and his ex-partner separated around the turn of 2026. Following the separation, the defendant repeatedly attended her home in the Afan Valley — sometimes up to five times a day — and bombarded her with WhatsApp messages and phone calls despite her attempts to set boundaries between them.
Prosecutor Craig Jones told the court that on 2 March this year, Smith went to the woman’s address armed with a knife. The victim drove off, but Smith pursued her in his car — overtaking her, blocking the road, and forcing her to stop.
When the defendant got out of his car still brandishing the knife, the woman tried to escape but ended up reversing into a roadside ditch.
She managed to flag down a passing vehicle and the motorist drove her to the safety of Cymmer police station, where she told officers she had been forced off the road by a man with a knife.
The woman’s father later found her abandoned car in the ditch. All four tyres had been slashed.
Garage arson and mountain manhunt
After the road incident, Smith sent his ex-partner taunting messages and voice notes — including one referencing what was about to happen, the court heard.
Neighbours then spotted smoke coming from the garage at the rear of the woman’s property, before seeing Smith emerging from the garage carrying a knife and threatening to harm himself.
While firefighters tackled the garage fire, officers from South Wales Police began searching for Smith. He was eventually traced to a track on the mountain above Blaengwynfi, where armed officers spent a period negotiating with him to drop his knife before he was arrested shortly before 4pm.
A “form of revenge attack”
Judge Catherine Richards said Smith’s actions had constituted “a form of revenge attack” and that he had used his car “as a weapon” to frighten his ex-partner. She did accept that there was evidence of remorse on the defendant’s part.
Defence barrister David Singh described his client’s actions as “remarkably foolish and vindictive in part” and said it was fortunate the consequences had not been more serious. He told the court the context — though not an excuse — was Smith’s use of alcohol and drugs while suffering from severe depression following the death of his father.
The court heard Smith had minor convictions on his record between 2001 and 2013, with his most recent prior conviction being a 2025 offence of being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol, for which he received 10 penalty points but no disqualification.
Sentence
With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas, Smith was sentenced to four years and four months in prison. He will serve 40 per cent of that in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
He was also disqualified from driving for a total of 32 months.
“Cannot be tolerated”
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Jonathan Holding of South Wales Police said: “David Smith’s behaviour towards the victim was incredibly threatening and intimidating and cannot be tolerated.
“It is impossible to know just how far Smith would have gone in his course of terror against the victim, and it is extremely fortunate that it came to an end when it did, before somebody got hurt.
“This was a series of incidents and not one moment of madness, and that is reflected in the length of sentence which has been handed out.”
Help and support
Anyone affected by domestic abuse can contact the Live Fear Free helpline on 0808 80 10 800. The service is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
