A DAD-of-two who sped away from police at 120mph then hit 60mph on residential roads in north Swindon has been jailed for eight months. 

Jailing Joshua Steele, who has never passed a driving test, Judge Peter Crabtree said the 25-year-old had shown an utter disregard for other road users.

One of those other drivers, a woman whose car was almost struck when Steele’s Corsa skipped red lights at Blunsdon Hill, was so shaken up by the near miss she’d had to pull over. 

Judge Crabtree told the Pinehurst man, who has never passed his driving test: “I accept the road conditions were good and that you did not cause any injury but this was still not a short piece of dangerous driving. 

“It continued over five or six miles and over 12 or 13 minutes. It is right to say that the traffic was light along the A419, but there was more about in residential areas in the towns you travelled through. 

“You drove aggressively and at high speeds through red traffic lights, on the pavement, over grassy and pedestrianised areas – in short, in a manner that showed utter disregard for other road users and where there was real risk of damage and injury. 

“Further, you disregarded police instruction to stop and accelerated away after colliding with a marked police vehicle.”

Chase

Swindon Crown Court heard Steele was behind the wheel of a black Vauxhall Corsa police officers were keen to stop after a raid near Cricklade on May 21 last year. 

PC Luke Hobbs pulled up at a roundabout in Cricklade and illuminated his blue lights to get the Corsa’s driver to pull over. 

Steele pushed past the marked police car, causing an estimated £1,300-worth of damage to the vehicle. He accelerated to 80mph in a 30 zone then ignored a road closure and drove up the wrong lane in order to get onto the A419.

Video footage from the police helicopter, which was played to the court yesterday, showed Steele speeding down a near-empty A419. Police officers said they were hitting 120mph in their marked cars but were still unable to make ground on the Vauxhall.

Steele came off at the Blunsdon turning then sped through the red lights, narrowly missing another driver, and rejoined the A419. He turned off at the Honda junction and weaved through Stratton, Penhill and Pinehurst.

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Steele squeezes through a gap in a hedge, shown in video shot from the NPAS helicopter Picture: CPS WESSEX

Footage showed him driving on the wrong-side of the road, mounting pavements and speeding at up to 60mph in 30 zones. He squeezed through a hedgerow, drove through parks and down cycle paths, crossing Pinehurst Road at speed as he went from the Tovey Road park to the Southbrook playing fields where he ditched the car.

Officers tracked him to a house nearby. He tested positive at the roadside for cocaine and cannabis but then refused to provide a sample of blood when he was taken to the police station. 

Steele, who has no licence and wasn’t insured, had bought the Corsa for £4,000 two months before he led police on the six mile chase.

Prosecuting, Matt Jackson said Steele had 16 convictions on his record for 22 offences. He received his first conviction in March 2007, when he was just 12-years-old. 

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Police at the scene last May Picture: ADVER

'He was in a hole - and kept digging'

Steele, of Pinehurst Road, admitted dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen of blood and driving without insurance or a licence. 

Emma Handslip, mitigating, said he was a father of two and supported in court by his partner. He helped support his young family financially, although he did not live with his partner and children. He was well-regarded by his employer, who provided a character reference.

She said Steele had taken drugs the night before and had panicked. “He knew he’d simply dug himself into a hole and kept digging.”

Since the offending he’d turned his life around. He was remorseful and there had been some delay in the case reaching the courts.

Jail the only option

Judge Crabtree recognised Steele had changed his life in the past 11 months, but said the driving was so serious that only an immediate prison sentence was appropriate. 

He said: “I have no doubt that this was a very serious case of dangerous driving with multiple features of relevance to my assessment of harm and culpability. It is so serious in my view that only immediate custody can be justified, notwithstanding the mitigation in this case.” 

Steele was banned from driving for two years and four months. He must pass an extended retest if he wants to get behind the wheel again.