The actor, who played Les Battersby in the ITV1 soap, admitted last month that he yanked the steering wheel of his wife Sandra’s car from her hand as she drove along a busy road.
Jones, 57, was drunk and shouted “I’ll kill us both” when the incident took place as his wife drove along the A55 in North Wales last August.
He was sentenced at Mold Crown Court to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
The troubled actor pleaded guilty to dangerous driving a day after a jury heard his wife’s evidence about how he subjected her to years of drink-fuelled physical and emotional abuse. He has since vowed to beat the bottle and save his marriage.
Jones showed no emotion as Recorder Simon Medland handed down the sentence. Recorder Medland was told Jones is in a 26-week rehab programme to tackle his addiction. He said: “The efforts you are making to turn your life around are impressive.”
Jones was also ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and must complete a 12-month supervision order. He was disqualified from driving for 18 months and must pay a total of £1,000 towards prosecution and his own costs.
Jones, who appeared in court under his real name of Ian Roy Jones, was almost half way through his trial last month when the jury was discharged because of a legal issue. He had the option of going for a retrial but decided against it - not wanting to force his long suffering wife to give evidence again, his barrister said.
An allegation of assault by grabbing Mrs Jones’s arm lies on file.
The incident was just one of many that Jones, of Knutsford Road, Alderley Edge, had subjected his wife to over the years. She told the court she realised he had an alcohol problem within six months of them living together. Tweet
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A nice guy until he has a drink, lets hope he can get cured in rehab
£1,000 towards prosecution I just wonder how much the real cost of bringing this to court .He should be made to pay the full amount of the court costs. The outcome of this case was obvious .
zingo, the moon
27/04/2010 at 11:47
Generosity of spirit is obviously not one of your stronger traits.
A nice guy until he has a drink, lets hope he can get cured in rehab
Proper Sentences
Agreed - but if only it were that simple. All the best to the lad anyway.
"Generosity of spirit is obviously not one of your stronger traits" - Mancunian Purification
No, it wasn't one of Ace's either.
best of luck with the addiction and saving your marriage.
lock him up, I would have been for doing the same. A Violent drunk.
Just another old alcoholic costing the tax payer money. I wonder if Coronation Street bosses will open a rehab facility for it´s burned out stars?
bruce jones should have received a much harsher punishment, he put his own wife at risk, other road users, and himself. he has lived a priveledged 20years and chose to drink himself silly in that period, sympathy is not needed in this case, empathy was needed and then the seriousness of the offence dealt with properly. if he had not have been caught he would have continued in this lifestyle. lorraine newton heath north manchester
A sad case who has really been living a lifestyle ill-befitting his background and social competences. Get a proper job and stop dreaming.
Mancunian Purification, 1910, Manchester
This man has been earning a fortune why should the "normal working man" have to pay the rest of this expensive court case? make him pay the lot.Generosity of spirit your joking we in britain are too generous to everybody that is why we have trouble paying for Important things like books in our schools and lifesaving medicines.
Not excusing his behaviour in any way and feel sorry for his wife but he seems to have inner demons which may have sprung from when he make an horrific discovery of one of Peter Sutcliffe's victims. Go for the cure Bruce. Good luck.
Interesting how two ex Corrie stars are making headlines at the same time, both due to addiction and weakness, yet you'd think that Denise Welch was the one who endangered innocent lives through nothing more than selfish behaviour if you read through both sets of comments.
This man has not only put his wife's life at risk but also the lives of everyone else driving around him and possibly further more had there been a pile up on that busy road. Thankfully such an incident didn't occur. Denise Welch snorted cocaine, no doubt with her ridiculously high wages from acting on Corrie, but the way people are attacking her you'd think she's robbed old ladies to pay for her habit! Yes she's cashing in, but only if people are mug enough to buy her book. How any of you can defend this man's actions is beyond me.
Is Alcoholism an illness or an addiction or both. I am intrigued as I know a few and they claim its an illness. I am minded towards that view but would welcome other commenters views
"This man has been earning a fortune"
How much did he earn, in the soap hes not been in for 3 years?
Is Alcoholism an illness or an addiction or both. I am intrigued as I know a few and they claim its an illness. I am minded towards that view but would welcome other commenters views
Proper Sentences
27/04/2010 at 13:56
I'm on the fence with this one PS. For the first 50 years of my father's life he would have a few drinks, no need to get wasted, be more than happy to not go for another drink for a few weeks and then go out to meet the lads again. Then at some point in his 50s things changed. He knew full well what he was doing, the fact that he was killing himself, that it broke our hearts to see him doing that and fully acknowledged that he was an alcoholic. Didn't stop him from drinking himself into an early grave, and to this day although I love him dearly and miss him constantly, I despise the selfish man he became. Whether or not it's an addiction or illness, or perhaps both, it is most definitely a selfish weakness and one that should not be pitied in my honest opinion.
He's hit rock bottom. He now needs to understand that and start again and work his way back up. Hopefully his family and friends are behind him and finding help and support. There are some excellent AA meetings in his immediate area.
so his situation remains `status quo`
he should have gone `down down, deeper and down`!
Drink doesn't make someone nasty, it just brings it out of them.
She should stop propping him up and suffering in the process.
He needs to stand on his own two feet and take responsibility for his actions.
If he's got psychological problems, now is the time to get help.
Stop bullying your wife and expecting her to mother you all the time like a big kid.
Strange hoe Corroe seems to attract or produce (chicken or egg) people with problems. I can think of several others from the programme who have had their problems. Do we think they might be overpaid - like footballers who similarly seem prone to bother?
Ignoramus, Manchester
I just wonder if youve got a house in the best part of cheshire like him? stop making excuses for people like him who has lived the life of exess.
Addiction or Illness? it is both in my opinion, the question is which comes first?
Each alcoholic has a different reason for drinking, some have issues with life and find solice in the bottle then the addiction starts then it's a downward spiral into Illness. Others have depression which causes them to turn to drink and then become addicted, but the common denominator in either situation is addiction.
Yet ANOTHER Coronation Street loser to hit the headlines. There'll be no cast in a bit. What an example of the good life, I don't think.
What really saddens me about this whole sorry business is that, in my opinion, Bruce Jones should have been a very big name. In his debut, Ken Loach`s "Raining Stones", he (and Ricky Tomlinson) were absolutely superb. Taking the guaranteed meal-ticket of the Corrie job saw him type-cast, unfortunately. But had he been over in the States, I am quite sure he would have gone on to be very big in films. I sincerely hope and pray, for the sake of his career and for the happiness of his wife and himself, that the rehabilitation works and we see his acting career revive. Good luck Bruce (Ian).
Ignoramus, Manchester I just wonder if youve got a house in the best part of cheshire like him? stop making excuses for people like him who has lived the life of exess.
Nope and neither does Bruce. he lives in marple. Very nice - but theres much better in Cheshire.
And im not making excuses, I just dont think he should be treated differently by the courts because you think so.