Teenage car thief hit speeds of 100mph and drove on wrong side of road in Leeds police chase
A teenage car thief who hit speeds of up to 100 mph during a police chase through Leeds has been locked up.
18-year-old Callum Armstrong was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to a string of offences including burglary, handling of stolen goods, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, and driving without a licence or insurance.
Prosecutor Mr Harris told Leeds Crown Court how at around 1.10am on August 21 2025, Armstrong and another male were spotted on CCTV wearing balaclavas and entering a home on Dewsbury Road. They stole the keys for a motorbike but were disturbed before they could take the vehicle.
Just over a week later on August 30, a Grey VW Golf was stolen from an address on Poppleton Road. The defendant was later spotted driving the vehicle, which was sporting false plates, on September 8. Police followed him down Cemetery Lane, Middleton where he sped up and failed to stop for their blue lights.
A high-speed pursuit followed where Armstrong, of Castle Road, Rothwell, hit speeds of 70 mph in a 30 before hitting 100 mph in a 50 zone, while travelling the wrong way down Thorpe Lower Lane. Police were forced to make tactical contact to stop him going the wrong way onto the M1 motorway. After exiting the carriageway, he went the wrong way around the roundabout at junction 41 before ditching the car.
The 18-year-old attempted to make off on foot but was later arrested. Equipment, including black tape and a blow torch, were found in the stolen vehicle. The pursuit lasted approximately 10 minutes, Mr Harris told the court.
Armstrong’s phone and fingerprints later linked him to a Silver Audi TT and Orange Renault Captur, stolen from an address on Beachgrove Avenue, Leeds on September 4, as well as a Silver Ford Fiesta stolen on September 5. The cars were later recovered on false plates.
The teenager also pleaded guilty to a high-speed pursuit in an Audi A4, which was spotted on false registration plates, while travelling from Bradford to Leeds. The defendant once again failed to stop for police and reached speeds of 80 mph along Whitehall Road, before hitting 90 mph in a 40 and travelling the wrong way down the carriageway. He narrowly a avoided crash on Gildersome Lane, the court heard.
He later hit speeds of 95 mph while travelling the wrong way down the A653 towards Morley. He soon abandoned the vehicle and ran off. He was tracked by police helicopter, and arrested in nearby fields.
The court heard how Armstrong was on police bail at the time, after being involved in a high speed pursuit in York on February 1 2025.
In mitigation, defence counsel Safter Salam told Leeds Crown Court how his client had “no entrenched background of offending” and was of previous good character, with no history of criminality prior to 2025.
Mr Salan told the court that his client’s age must be taken into account, and that Armstrong suffered from impulse control, poor consequential thinking and was immature.
He urged Judge Simon Batiste to remember that Armstrong’s offending was confined to 2025, and to take into account the “heightened risk taking” undertaken by young people.
Before passing sentence, Judge Batiste said the 18-year-old had travelled at “grossly excessive speed” and was incredibly fortunate no one was seriously injured or killed.
He sentenced Armstrong to four and a half years’ detention at a young offenders facility, and banned him from driving for four years and three months. He will be required to take an extended driving test to regain his licence.
“I know your mother and another relative are in court today and they must be despairing. I feel genuine sorrow for them,” Judge Batiste added.