A burglar has admitted leading police on a 115mph midnight chase while at the wheel of a van containing £30,000-worth of bikes from a Keswick shop.
The town’s e-venture Bikes, at Elliot Park, was broken into at around 10.20pm on October 5. A witness heard an alarm going off and saw a van at the back of the premises.
Male voices were heard and CCTV captured the vehicle being driven off at high speed although the registration number was taken.
Mobile police patrols were set up and, just before midnight, the Ford Transit was spotted on the M6 in South Cumbria, being driven at high speed and undertaking other vehicles.
The van was estimated to be travelling at around 115mph southbound on the motorway before leaving at Junction 33 in Lancashire. Dangerous driving above the speed limit continued along the A6 through rural villages and there was even a risky overtake of an ambulance before the van stopped.
Balaclavas, a crow bar, angle grinder and gloves were recovered along with bikes valued at £30,198 which had been stashed in the back of the vehicle after the raid.
In the aftermath two men, driver Harry Curran, 34, and 41-year-old accomplice James Easterbrook were charged.
And at Carlisle Crown Court today , Curran — a one-time personal trainer — admitted burglary of e-venture Bikes and dangerous driving of the Ford Transit, on the M6 between junctions 37 and 33, and the A6.
London-based duo Curran, of Wicker Street, Tower Hamlets, and Easterbrook, of Cable Street, appeared at the crown court remotely via video links from custody.
Barrister Kim Whittlestone, for Curran, said he was “desperate” to be sentenced as soon as possible, adding: “He is realistic in light of his antecedents. He knows it is going to be custody, it is just a matter of length.”
Easterbrook, however, was not represented by a barrister and did not enter a plea to the one burglary charge he faces.
As a result, the case was adjourned by a judge to December 1. Easterbrook and Curran will return to the crown court on that date but remain in custody until then.
