A grandad, who has committed more than 200 crimes in the past 49 years crashed a stolen car into a house while a pregnant mum watched TV with her eight-year-old daughter.
David Allen, 59, led cops on a chase around Farnworth at around 5.30pm on November 2, 2022, after an officer had spotted him driving a Nissan Qashqai matching the description of one stolen in a burglary around a week earlier. During the pursuit, Allen ran red lights, drove at double the speed limit, went the wrong way around a mini roundabout and even caused a crash.
Despite police putting a stinger down to stop him, he continued driving with burst tyres but eventually came to an abrupt stop when he crashed into a house in Blindsill Road. He fled from the car on foot but was caught and arrested a short time later, prosecution barrister John Kennerley told Bolton Crown Court. Upon being arrested, it was discovered that he already had five simultaneous driving bans, having never passed a court-ordered extended retest.
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The homeowner - a pregnant woman - had been watching TV in the living room with her daughter at the time of the collision and she said it "caused the whole house to shake". After being interviewed, Allen was charged with a string of driving offences as well as an unrelated burglary - in which around £10,000 worth of jewellery was taken from a house in Lostock - in April 2022.
Allen, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and burglary. The court heard that Allen committed his first crime as a child in 1974 and has "effectively pursued a career as a professional burglar", appearing before the courts 44 times for 206 offences.
'He's a strikingly unsuccessful burglar and criminal'
Defence barrister Nick Ross told the court that Allen has been taking class A drugs since his 'late teens' and regularly commits crimes to pay his drug debts. He added that Allen has now "had enough" of that lifestyle and is hoping to turn his life around when he is released from prison.
Mr Ross said: "After so many years of being a strikingly unsuccessful burglar and criminal, the penny perhaps has dropped, but he's going to have a lot of thinking time before he's released from prison. He's had enough of offending and wishes to move forwards offence and drug free."
Judge Elliot Knopf slammed Allen's driving as 'appalling' as he jailed him for four years and 10 months. He added: "It’s quite clear from the repeated nature of the offending that you have pursued a career as a professional burglar over a number of years."
Allen will be banned from driving for one year once he is released from jail and will be required to pass an extended retest.
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