JAILED: Man who led police on high-speed chase in Bilston
A motorist who led police on a high-speed chase just 14 days after being banned from driving has been locked up for six months.
Dean Carless was at the wheel of a 12-year-old Renault Megan bought just days earlier when spotted by an officer in an unmarked BMW, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The car sped off down Wolverhampton Road before racing round a loop of side streets in Bilston at up to twice the 30mph speed limit, explained Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting. It also raced through a red traffic light.
The seven-minute pursuit started after the BMW driver unsuccessfully tried to order Carless to stop after spotting him going too quickly and ended after the front bumper of the Megan was torn off when it hit a parked van while trying to avoid an oncoming bus.
The defendant ran off leaving his passenger in the vehicle but was quickly caught after being rugby tackled by a police officer from the BMW who radioed for assistance as 28-year-old Carless attempted to break free shortly before midnight on May 5. It was then discovered that he had been banned from driving for drink driving a fortnight earlier.
Mr Simon Hanns, defending, said: "This was not the worst case of dangerous driving this court has seen and he says he has no wish to get behind the wheel of a car again. Only time will tell if that is the case."
Carless from Bull Street, Wednesbury, admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. He was jailed for six months and banned from driving for 16 months by Judge Stephen Eyre QC who told him: "This was deliberate criminality in defiance of a court order. Not only did you drive 14 days after being disqualified from doing so, you refused to stop for the police, went through a red light and travelled at double the speed limit."
