A driver who jumped from a moving car and sprinted down a rugby pitch to escape police at the end of a high speed pursuit has been spared custody.
Joshua Lee Baker, 20, first came to the attention of a police officer parked in a side road at Lamplugh as he sped past in a red Volkswagen Polo just before 9pm on March 7.
But as the PC followed and then activated the blue lights of his vehicle while passing through Rowrah, Baker did not stop.
The officer hit twice the 30mph speed limit through that village as he gave chase, then accelerating to 70mph without making up ground on narrow country roads with a cyclist present on a pavement at one stage.
At a temporary traffic light in an area of unmanned road works, Baker drove through a red signal despite other vehicles approaching. He travelled through cones in a cordoned off area and collided with a plastic barrier which became lodged underneath his car.
Baker did not slow down and the officer had to hit 90mph in a 60mph zone before the pursuit entered Frizington. The Polo was then driven over paths on to a rugby pitch, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
“The plastic barrier under the vehicle became dislodged,” said prosecutor Jack Troup. “Whilst the vehicle was moving, the driver exited the car and made off on foot.”
Dashcam footage played in court showed Baker, of Buckle Avenue, Cleator Moor, sprinting down the touchline in darkness before entering woodland as he was lost to police. He had left his girlfriend in the car.
But Baker had left his partner in the abandoned vehicle — which was also linked to him — and he was traced to a nearby address at Moor Place. “Officers, when they entered, found him hiding down beside a bed in one of the bedrooms,” said Mr Troup. “He was arrested and taken into custody.”
Barker later admitted dangerous driving, no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and was sentenced at the crown court today (fri).
Baker’s barrister, Brendan Burke, outlined a sad childhood during which he had been abandoned by his father and, astonishingly, he explained, had never appeared on any local authority radar.
“When the author of the probation service pre-sentence report says ‘no family support’, it is a much sadder picture than that,” said Mr Burke. Locking Baker up would be “destructive”, the barrister added.
Recorder Mark Ainsworth agreed, suspending an eight-month youth detention sentence for 18 months. Baker must complete rehabilitation sessions, including a thinking skills programme, and 150 hours’ unpaid work.
“The fact that nobody was injured, the fact you are not standing in the dock charged with a far more serious offence is perhaps down to good fortune,” said the judge.
“You must understand that the courts take offences of this nature very seriously.”
Baker was also banned from driving for two years, and ordered to take an extended retest.
