JAILED: Black Country drug dealer drove wrong way down M6 Toll trying to flee police
A drug dealer who drove the wrong way on the M6 Toll while trying to escape from police has been locked up.
Officers found class A drugs and a number of mobile phones in the boot of the car Jason Bayley crashed into a signpost after mounting a verge next to the motorway in Staffordshire.
The 46-year-old from Wednesbury was jailed for three years and seven months at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday.
Bayley ended up on the toll road after fleeing from police in Burntwood in the early hours of January 21 last year.
Patrol cars tried to stop the Chevrolet he was driving in Church Road at around 1am but Bayley, who only had a provisional licence, managed to escape after damaging a fence and turning his lights off.
He drove three-and-a-half miles before joining the M6 Toll northbound at the T4 Weeford Interchange, initially on the correct side of the carriageway.
He tried to leave the motorway at T5 next to Wall Island but, when he couldn't get through the barrier, he turned around and drove the wrong way back along the road before eventually crashing into the signpost.
Bayley was sentenced to three years and three months for possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and a further four months for aggravated vehicle taking, having taken the car from a relative without their consent.
He received two further three-month sentences for possession of class A drugs and driving without a licence, which will be served concurrently, and was banned from driving for 33 months.
Bayley, of Sycamore Road, had pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.
Pc Philip Smith, of Lichfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Bayley was carrying drugs and was extremely reckless in his actions at the wheel. It is fortunate he did not cause serious harm to other drivers.”
