A danger driver who led police on a high-speed chase before reversing into a police car has been jailed.
Uninsured driver Lee Woollard failed to stop for police officers on January 30 last year and instead led them on a pursuit that involved him running red lights and driving the wrong way around roundabouts. The 39-year-old was finally caught soon after he reversed and collided with a police vehicle.
Woollard, of Bywell Avenue, South Shields, appeared at Newcastle's Moot Hall on Wednesday to be sentenced for dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
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The court heard Woollard was spotted driving an uninsured vehicle by patrolling police officers who were in an unmarked car. Woollard did actually stop for the officer, but then pulled away as one walked towards his car. A chase which lasted "several minutes" then began and saw Woollard hitting speeds of up to 70mph in 30mph zones.
Judge Julie Clemitson said: "You drove on the wrong side of the road and the wrong way around roundabouts. You then came to a stop and reversed, colliding with a police vehicle. The vehicle was reversing as you hit it. The pursuit continued and you drove at speed and towards a road block set up by police, where you mounted the pavement but halted."
The judge added: "There was a struggle and you refused to provide a breath test and refused a blood sample at the station." The court was told that Woollard had 18 previous convictions for 40 offences, a "large part" of which were driving related.
Liam O'Brien, defending, said it was a "one-off, foolish mistake" and Woollard is a man who has "reached a certain age and knows how much he has to lose". He said: "He can be trusted on a suspended sentence order and has spent a month in custody reflecting on his position in life. It has been a short, sharp shock of custody and is enough to remind him how much he has to lose."
Woollard was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for three years.
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