A DANGER driver who clocked 65mph on residential Carlisle roads during a late night police chase has been spared immediate prison.
Mitchell Alexander Hughes, 21, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court for persistent bad driving – behind the wheel of a Renault Clio – which was captured on dash cam footage by officers in hot pursuit with blue lights and a siren activated.
Hughes ran three red lights, travelled on the wrong side of the road and caused other motorists to take avoiding action during a joyride which began in the city centre, continued in Denton Holme and then ended when the Clio became stuck in a bog after he went off-road in Chances Park. Hughes’s offending, just before midnight on October 15 last year, also occurred while some roads were busy with pedestrians as pubs emptied.
Hughes, of Bracken Close, Carlisle, initially fled from police but was caught and later admitted dangerous driving. He had a 12-month prison term suspended for two years at the crown court today (FRI). Branding Hughes a “twit” and a “fool”, Judge Peter Davies also imposed 200 hours unpaid work and a three-year driving ban.
In an address to Hughes’ lawyer, Judge Davies said: “Your client is a remarkably stupid boy who could have caused a lot of damage; a lot of injury to health. He could have killed somebody.”
