I was victim of drunken abuse, claims wife of soap's Les Battersby

THE wife of former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones told a court that he subjected her to years of drink-fuelled physical and emotional abuse.

Jones, 57, who played Les Battersby in the ITV1 soap, is accused at Mold Crown Court of trying to crash the couple's car as they travelled at high speed.

Sandra Jones, 59, who has been married to the actor for 26 years, said he was drunk in the passenger seat of their Mercedes M Class when he became angry and grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it up and down, causing the car to swerve dangerously.

Mrs Jones, who was driving the car along the A55 dual carriageway near Holywell, in Flintshire, North Wales, last August, managed to maintain control and bring the car to a stop.

But as she got out of the vehicle, the prosecution say Jones assaulted her by grabbing hold of her wrist. Jones, of Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, is on trial under his real name Ian Roy Jones and denies dangerous driving and common assault. He played Weatherfield layabout Les for ten years until 2007.

Gordon Hennell, prosecuting, asked Mrs Jones if her husband's departure from Coronation Street had affected his behaviour. She said: "Yes. He was going out (drinking] more during the day, and he came home quite drunk."

On the night of the alleged driving incident, Mrs Jones said he spent much of the journey agitated over a ring which had belonged to his mother.

As the journey continued, Mrs Jones told the court she began "answering back".

She said he jerked the wheel up and down about four or five times with his right hand, causing the car to swerve, though it never left the nearside carriageway or struck any other vehicles.

She said he repeatedly told her "I'm going to drive the car into a truck" and "I'm going to kill us".

The trial continues