Speeding driver ran red lights in Leeds and mounted pavement to avoid police
Judge said attempt to flee was “sheer stupidity”
A driver who sped from police and ran a series of red lights has been spared custody, having spent three weeks locked up.
Adam Harding was kept on remand after the chase which a judge at Leeds Crown Court described as being “sheer stupidity”.
The court heard that patrolling police ran a check on a silver Ford Focus on Roundhay Road on the afternoon of March 9.
An issue was flagged, so the officers tried to pull the car over.
Harding initially stopped, but when the officer got out to speak with him, he reversed at speed and then took off.
The officer activated their blue lights and the chase began.
Harding went through the lights, mounted a pavement and drove on the wrong side of the road in a bid to get away.
The 30-year-old was eventually detained but refused to answer questions during his police interview.
Harding, of Potternewton Crescent, Leeds, has no previous convictions.
A probation report read to the court suggested Sharp “panicked” and fled.
He had been homeless after splitting from his girlfriend and had issues with cocaine and gambling.
He had been in held in custody for three weeks before being granted bail.
Mitigating, Soheil Khan confirmed the chase was “born out of panic”.
He added that the chase “wasn’t the longest of its sort” and was just a “few miles”.
He said the three weeks spent locked up had been a “salutary lesson” for Harding, whom he said had since turned his life around.
The judge, Recorder Ella Anderson told Harding: “There’s no doubt it was extremely dangerous driving.
“It was born out of sheer stupidity. It was prolonged, persistent and deliberate.”
She gave him an 11-month jail sentence, suspended for 15 months, with 100 hours of unpaid work to complete and 30 rehabilitation days with probation.
He was also given a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and a 12-month driving ban. He will also need to take an extended retest to get his licence back.