Burglars cut hole in wall of Boots shop in Pontefract before high-speed pursuit by police

Scott Green was spotted on CCTV by officers before they chased him through 30mph-limit residential areas where he hit speeds of up to 75 mph, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Matthew Stuart said the alarms were triggered at Boots in Pontefract's Beastfair at around 6.45pm on January 31 2021.

A 2ft x 2ft hole had been made in the wall of the chemists and two men were seen getting into a Seat Leon, which police quickly tracked down.

It went through a red light and began overtaking cars on blind corners as it accelerated away, chased by the pursuing officers.

It reached 75mph in parts of Castleford town centre and was later abandoned near the town's railway station, with men then seen entering Carlton Lanes Shopping Centre.

Green was later found hiding nearby, and a head torch, gloves and walkie talkies were found.

The 32-year-old gave a no-comment interview, but his clothes matched those of the man seen getting behind the wheel of the Seat.

It is not known what, if anything, was stolen from Boots.

Green, of Cousin Lane, Halifax, admitted a single charge of burglary. He has three previous convictions for five offences, including a non-dwelling burglary and drug dealing.

He was also convicted of assaults for which he received a nine month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was in breach of his suspended sentence at the time he committed the Boots burglary.

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His barrister, Joanne Lata, said: "He is extremely embarrassed and ashamed for what has happened.

"He is not somebody who is brought before the court every week, every month or every year.

"He fell on hard times and made a stupid decision to allow himself to be involved in something of this nature."

But Judge Simon Batiste told him that jail was inevitable.

He said: "The only sentence that can be possibly justified is one of an immediate custodial sentence.

"You became involved in a highly-sophisticated robbery. Your role may have been less than others but there must be a strong deterrent element."

He gave him 20 months in prison and triggered six months of the existing suspended sentence that he had previously received for the assaults.

This article was first published by the Wakefield Express.