Lorry's shredded tyres left trail of sparks after Wakefield police stinger move

An officer even had to dive out of the way when Richard Frost stopped, then took off again as the officer approached. The 42-year-old, who has a history of bad driving, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week.

He admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

Prosecutor Jordan Millican told the court that police had spotted the Iveco curtain-sided vehicle on the Ossett bypass at around 10pm on June 6 last year. They became suspicious when they thought the registration plates had been stuck on.

Checks found that the plates did indeed belong to another vehicle, so followed the lorry towards Denby Dale Road in Flockton. When it stopped at lights, the officers pulled ahead and set a stinger trap to burst the tyres.

Having been successfully deployed and the tyres deflated, the lorry came to a stop and the officer approached, grabbing hold of the driver’s-side door handle. But Frost then put his foot down again, forcing the officer into evasive action.

The vehicle struck a Landrover being driven by a female, before driving off again. Reaching speeds of 50mph, and with the tyres disintegrating and sparks coming from the open rims, Frost eventually relented and stopped before being arrested on the A61 towards Wakefield.

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Frost, of Hanover Gardens, Dewsbury, gave a no-comment interview to police. He appeared in court this week via video link from HMP Hull.

He has 34 convictions for 50 previous offences, including dangerous driving in 2016, driving while banned in 2021 and dangerous driving again when he was jailed for 10 months in May of this year.

Mitigating, Daisy Wrigley said Frost maintains the vehicle was not stolen and he had been working that day. She said he had worked as a HGV driver in the past, and as a butcher.

She said: “I can’t argue with his antecedent history and he entirely acknowledges that immediate custody is likely.”

Judge Ray Singh described it as an “appalling piece of driving” that lasted around 13 minutes. He gave Frost a 14-month jail sentence, and a new driving ban of 43 months.