Driver in Telford high-speed car chase is jailed

A 24-year-old driver who led police on a high speed car chase in Telford has been jailed for nine months.

Michael Lewis, of Glebe Street, Wellington, was finally stopped when police used a taser on him after he abandoned the car and fled on foot, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard yesterday.

He tried to outrun a police car at about 3.20am on July 24 last year and led officers on a 10-minute chase reaching speeds of 70mph.

Mr Phillip Beardwell, prosecuting, said the pursuit started at Trench Lock where police spotted Lewis's parked car.

He said when an officer approached the car on foot, Lewis drove away as if he was 'not paying attention'.

Lewis, who admitted dangerous driving at a previous hearing, sped off towards the Clock Tower roundabout doing 70mph in a 60mph zone.

Mr Beardwell said the chase carried on towards Newport along Wellington Road and through Church Aston. He said Lewis overtook lorries, mounted the kerb and screeched around corners along the way.

He was caught after he tried to park in a residential area near the Red House roundabout and ran into a house.

He had not applied the handbrake as he parked, causing the car to roll into another. Mr Beardwell said officers found Lewis in a bed in the house and he resisted arrest despite officers warning they would taser him, which they did.

He said Lewis told police he had been on a night out when officers spotted his car.

Mr Beardwell said: "He thought he was possibly over the limit. He wasn't."

Mr Mike Sherwood-Smith, for Lewis, said his client's attempt to escape police was 'an exercise in futility'. He said Lewis held a driving licence, insurance and MOT at the time of the incident but was also serving a community order for a separate offence.

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said there had been 'excessive speeds at various points'.

He banned Lewis from driving for 18 months.