A man has been jailed for driving offences after he collided with a child’s buggy in Newham.

Mantas Kaupas, 37 (21.01.81) of Sherrard Road, E7 was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 1 February to 18 months’ imprisonment having been convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and dangerous driving.

He was also banned from driving for 33 months.

At approximately 22:55hrs on 22 May 2017, a couple were walking with their 13-month-old child – who was in a buggy – along Upton Lane, E7. As they used the zebra crossing close to the junction with Dunbar Road a white BMW collided with the buggy.

The driver sped away from the scene before going through a red traffic light.

Officers attended and the child was taken by the London Ambulance Service to the Royal London Hospital where he received treatment for a head injury. He was discharged a week later.

The BMW was found abandoned less than a mile away from the collision.

Kaupas was identified as the owner; he was arrested on 23 May 2017 but denied driving the car, claiming that he had stayed in all night.

Enquiries established that Kaupas had been travelling around the Newham area that night.

He was charged by postal requisition on 26 June 2018.

Detective Constable Adam Daisley, from the North-East Command Unit, said: “It is only a matter of luck that the child did not suffer more serious injuries. Kaupas’s driving was unacceptable and the fact that he drove away shows his distain at what he did.

“He lied to officers about this whereabouts that night but his alibi was quickly disproven by thorough investigative work.”