A SWINDON man has again been spared prison after he failed to comply with the requirements of a suspended sentence.

Joshua McLeod led police officers on a cannabis-fuelled high-speed chase through Swindon in March 2020, and was given a suspended sentence last January with requirements to attend probation appointments and unpaid work.

After not attending various appointments in September, November and December of last year, he was warned that he was “at the end of the road” and could expect to go to prison unless he started complying with the order.

McLeod appeared before Swindon Crown Court on January 12, where it was adjourned whilst an assessment was carried out on whether he was suitable for a mental health treatment requirement.

And appearing back at the same court on Thursday, 12 mental health treatment requirement days were added to his order.

Additionally, Judge Jason Taylor QC, the judge who spared him prison last year, extended the supervision period to the end of his suspended sentence.

As previously reported, the now 20-year-old’s “outrageous” driving led police officers from Barbury Castle to Swindon town centre in March 2020.

The court heard that he went through red lights, the wrong way around roundabouts and hit speeds of 70 miles per hour in 30 zones.

McLeod, of Beatrice Street, Gorse Hill, had been parked in a Mitsubishi Carisma near Barbury Castle in the early hours of March 8, when police officers had knocked on the window as they could smell cannabis.

McLeod refused to wind down the window and made off at speed, hitting 80mph in 40mph zones and 70mph on roads with 30mph limits.

The court heard how he went through numerous red lights “without hesitation”, and went straight over numerous mini-roundabouts.

Tests at the police station showed McLeod was more than three times the drug-drive limit for cannabis. He was given a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

Earlier this month, Judge Taylor told McLeod’s barrister, Sambreen Arif that he was “not impressed” with her client’s compliance with the order.

But having heard that he had been struggling with his mental health, he added: “But equally if someone is struggling with his mental health, I want to see if I can help him before I go for the nuclear option which is activation.

“What your client needs to understand is that he needs to carry on with this order. I am singularly unimpressed that when he was told that breach proceedings would be activated he just got up and walked out of the appointment.

“He needs to show commitment. I want to test his mettle.”