'You served your country... you have built up a little credit' judge tells Afghanistan veteran spared jail for dangerous driving
A former Royal Engineer who lost a leg in an IED explosion while on active service in Afghanistan and who spent six months in a coma has been spared jail after committing a series of driving offences in Telford.
Martyn Thompson of Beech Close, Newport, was only 20 years old when he suffered his injuries at the hands of a Taliban explosive device, that killed a number of his colleagues.
But Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Thursday (July 3) that the now 37-year-old was spotted driving a Vauxhall van in Trench Lock, Telford on September 19 last year.
Thompson, who now works as an engineer for Bentley, had been disqualified from driving due to “totting up” offences and exceeding 12 points on his licence.
Because of this, officers in Telford attempted to stop his van, but Thompson sped off, Ms Alexa Carrier prosecuting told the court.
She said in his attempts to evade police, Thompson crossed the central reservation and crossed a live lane into oncoming traffic before driving into a Co-op car park where he damaged another vehicle after trying to squeeze though a gap.
