A Cornwall veteran has spoken out about the "terrifying" moment a motorist was filmed driving at him, but the couple in the vehicle said it was not malicious and they never intended to harm anyone.
Steve Strachan, of Falmouth, says he is involved in an ongoing series of issues involving his ex-wife Shelley Merton, who owns a well-known Cornish security business, which culminated in a frightening incident involving a Ford Ranger last week.
In a harrowing video clip of the incident, Mr Strachan appears from in front of the moving vehicle as it accelerates towards him, which can be heard in the footage, then he goes into the passenger-side door.
Awaiting police to arrive at the time, he claims his ex-wife and her new boyfriend, who was driving, had shown up to his sister's property where he is staying and had taken the keys to the campervan he is living in, which is registered in her name.
He admits he was trying to stall and stop them and put himself in front of the vehicle until police hopefully arrived, but the clip shows the driver continues to drive toward him in the large 4×54 truck that is branded with the logo for Penryn-based Exco Fire and Security.
"I phoned 999 as things have been ongoing for eight or nine months and I was told to call 999 if she does anything," Mr Strachan said. "They stole my keys and I thought, 'I'm not having that', so I followed them and they parked up in Prislow Fields."
"I stood in front of the vehicle so they couldn't just drive off. I was hoping the police would turn up but it was another 10 to 15 minutes."
"At that point they accelerated toward me but I managed to get up and get out of the way in time. I was in the Armed Forces and this was one of the worst things I've experienced," he added.
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The video clip has since been circulating on social media with concerned members of the public tagging the Penryn security company. People were, however, being blocked on mentioning it on the company's page and the business later removed its Facebook page altogether.
Ms Merton, however, who owns the company, says key context has been left out of Mr Strachan's account and the video clip which shows her ex-husband actually laying in front of the vehicle, with the driver, her boyfriend James Johnson, trying to swerve out the way and leave at the first opportunity.
In the clip, you can hear the speed at which the vehicle accelerated towards Mr Strachan. There are also two girls, understood to be teenagers, watching it unfold, with Mr Strachan saying they were "pretty shaken up" after.
"I've put up with a lot, but I'm really hoping the police finally do something about this," Mr Strachan told CornwallLive.
Ms Merton, however, said he is just trying to make her life difficult. "I just want to be left alone to get on with my life but him and his family are making my life hell," she said.
"There was absolutely no confrontation. We just came to retrieve some keys to a vehicle that belonged to me and we were trying to leave."
She also explained the vehicle is not a company vehicle and is simply her personal vehicle with branding and a private plate to advertise her company.
"It had absolutely nothing to do with the company and, as the owner of the company, I don't condone dangerous driving and never have done so," she added.
Mr Johnson added that he was the driver and that the manner of driving had absolutely nothing to do with Ms Merton. He said there was never any intention of harming anyone and that it was simply the only opportunity to leave after Mr Strachan had been allegedly stalling them for a significant time.
"He was lying in front of the vehicle and I accelerated to shock him to move out of the way," the ex-doorman said. "I never once wanted to hurt him. He was throwing himself in front of the vehicle."
Ian Priest, director of Exco Fire and Security Ltd, said: "We are aware of the footage and are urgently looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident."
Veteran Says Company Boss’s Truck Driven at Him in Video