Man who led police on Shropshire chase in stolen £16,000 BMW avoids jail
A young driver who stole a car in Shropshire and led police on a high-speed chase has escaped with a suspended sentence.
Muhammad Hassan pretended to be interested in buying a £16,000 BMW convertible from a house in Bridgnorth. Hassan, 18, and another man visited a house in the town and stole it while its owner moved another car. Within an hour of the theft on May 6 it was seen by police in convoy with a white Peugeot on the A41 between Shropshire and Wolverhampton.
Officers in an unmarked patrol car followed and the Peugeot pulled up, but the BMW continued to Chapel Ash in Wolverhampton where a stinger was first deployed and damaged the car's two nearside tyres. It continued on the A4150 ring road, reaching almost 100mph before another two stingers were deployed and it crashed into a Honda car.
Prosecuting, Geoffrey Dann said the driver of the Honda and his partner both suffered minor injuries and had been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder since the incident.
Harpreet Sandhu, for Hassan, said he was previously of "impeccable character". He is currently studying for a career in the automotive industry.
Hassan, of Denbigh Street, Birmingham, was given a 12-month sentence in a young offenders institute, suspended for two years for dangerous driving, with a further four months, suspended to run concurrently, for aggravated vehicle taking. He was also ordered to complete a 25-day rehabilitation requirement undertaking a thinking skills programme.
He will also complete 180 days unpaid work and been disqualified from driving for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £535 and a victim surcharge.
