Stinger failed to halt banned Astra driver during high-speed Leeds chase
Driver had to be rammed by police to prevent further carnage
A motorist who avoided a tyre-bursting stinger during a police chase was finally brought to a halt after a police car purposely smashed into him.
Richard Lynch has a long criminal record for driving offences and was jailed this week.
The judge at Leeds Crown Court told the 44-year-old: “You do not seem to be learning your lesson.”
The court heard that patrolling police spotted the Vauxhall Astra shortly before 10am on January 20.
It was heading along Gelderd Road towards Leeds and the officers suspected the car was on cloned plates, prosecutor Charles Creasey said.
They began to pursue the Astra and set up a stinger device, designed to burst its tyres and bring it to a stop, but Lynch managed to swerve around the device.
He then drove into oncoming traffic in a bid to get away.
Lynch crossed over the central reservation, then mounted the pavement and the grassed area outside the Lexus garage on Domestic Road, Holbeck.
Officers took the decision to make tactical contact with the Astra and bring it to a stop.
Lynch was arrested at the scene despite attempts to resist.
During his police interview, he admitted having no licence, but refused to comment on the dangerous driving.
Lynch, who is from the Middleton area but of no fixed address, admitted driving while disqualified and dangerous driving.
He appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Sarah Myatt said Lynch had been progressing in prison, was a wing cleaner, a mentor to other inmates and also worked in the servery.
She said Lynch was “realistic” about the inevitable prison sentence he was facing.
The judge, Recorder Ella Anderson, pointed to Lynch’s convictions - 28 for 56 offences, which includes three for dangerous driving and six for driving while banned.
She described it as a “significant history of driving offences”.
She jailed him for 16 months and handed him a new 32-month driving ban.