Judge calls for law changes after claiming Leeds teen's 90mph chase was 'among the worst he has seen'

Judge Ray Singh told Leeds Crown Court that his “hands were tied” when dealing with Archie Maloney, whose conduct was so dangerous that the police driver was even forced to abandon his pursuit.

The 18-year-old ran red lights, mounted pavements, forced motorists to take evasive action, ploughed through roadwork cones and reached more than double the speed limit in built-up areas.

Lamenting his powers, Judge Singh said: “You should be going to prison for two years today. I still do not understand why the law has not been changed for people who drive in this manner. But my hands are tied with the maximum I can impose.”

Prosecutor Harry Crowson said that police spotted Maloney – who has no driving licence – behind the wheel of a black Vauxhall Astra on August 9 which they suspected to be on false plates. They followed it to Shipley when he suddenly turned and tried to speed away, almost hitting a cyclist.

He went through red lights and was on the wrong side of the road reaching speeds of 60mph in 30mph zones. He also failed to even brake when he went through a red light on a pedestrian crossing. Luckily, nobody was on the crossing at the time.

Police said he then hit 80mph as he “bullied” other road users into moving, with some being forced to swerve onto the pavement to avoid a collision. A police stinger was set up but he was able to spot the device and mounted the pavement to avoid it.

He overtook on blind corners before turning into Calverley Lane, a country road west of Leeds, where he reached 90mph towards Stanningley Bypass. Maloney then ploughed through the traffic cones on road works. The police vehicle abandoned the chase but the helicopter was able to trail him.

He eventually crashed into a dug-out section in the roadworks and he got out and ran towards an industrial estate. He was eventually arrested.

Maloney, of Cottingley Chase, Beeston, admitted a charge of dangerous driving. He has a previous conviction for taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Mitigating, Andrea Parnham said: “He knows he has committed a very bad offence. He is a young man who was bored and made some very bad choices.”

She said he has aspirations of becoming a mechanic, and the Astra he was driving was a friend’s who was in the vehicle and encouraged him to flee from police.

But this was dismissed by Judge Singh, who called it “nonsense”. He added: “You only did for a bit of fun. Because you were bored? It was shocking behaviour. For someone of your age it was one of the most shocking pieces of driving I have dealt with. You could have easily killed a number of individuals.”

He gave him a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, having being forced to reduce the starting point because of his guilty plea and his age. He was also given a four-month electronic tag curfew, 20 rehabilitation days and a two-year driving ban.