A driver in a stolen car who rammed a police vehicle as fled during a 136mph midnight M6 chase has been jailed.
Officers received reports of the Volkswagen Golf being driven south on the motorway near Carlisle late on March 28.
As a sergeant positioned his vehicle on a hard shoulder, colleagues lay in wait further south, near Penrith.
The sergeant began following the Golf — driven by 28-year-old Aidan Frank Naylor — and hit more than 100mph to make up ground on the Golf before activating blue lights.
Despite a stinger device being deployed to burst tyres, the Golf accelerated to 136mph. It slowed but then rammed a police vehicle as attempts were made to stop Naylor leaving the M6 at Junction 40
Police then used tactical contact which turned the Golf 180 degrees and brought it to a halt after an eight-minute incident before an officer approached and drew a Taser.
Naylor, of Greenhead Walk, Bolton, was arrested and made no comment when interviewed. During a first magistrates’ court hearing, he admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, no insurance and possessing a class B drug after cannabis was found in a pocket.
The court heard dad-of-two Naylor had three previous convictions for dangerous driving, the last being recorded in 2022 when he was given a 12-month jail term and banned from driving for five years.
His lawyer, Sophie Johnstone, conceded of the M6 incident: “He is under no illusions about how dangerous and irresponsible his conduct was on this evening. His actions could have been fatal. Fortunately they were not.”
Using what she said were the defendant’s own words, the lawyer added: “He was an absolute idiot.”
Naylor was given an immediate 14-month jail term by Judge Michael Fanning, who learned of the defendant’s troubled upbringing and problematic mental health.
Judge Fanning called Naylor’s criminal conduct crassly irresponsible, adding: “If you carry on driving in the way you are driving, the risks to you are very significant indeed. You are absolutely no use to friends, family, children, partner, if you’re dead. That’s the way this could have ended up.”
Naylor must complete a seven-year driving ban when released from custody, and pass an extended retest before his licence is returned.
