Driver trying to outrun Wakefield police dived from moving VW Golf before it crashed

Oliver Fenton said he "panicked" when police tried to pull him over in Ossett while he was behind the wheel of a VW Golf that belonged to a friend.

The 44-year-old said he initially thought the police just wanted to get past him as he waited at traffic lights, but then became alarmed after his friend, who was in the passenger seat, told him he was wanted, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Police were alerted to the wanted Golf and patrolling officers spotted the vehicle on Teale Street in Ossett at around 5.45pm on October 25 last year.

When the lights changed, it sped off onto Queen's Walk and then Westwood Road. With cars parked either side and a car blocking the road ahead, Fenton initially tried to squeeze through the gap but realised it was not wide enough, so opened the car and jumped out of the Golf while it was still moving. It then rolled into a parked car.

He tried to run but was quickly detained by the officer who had begun chasing him on foot.

He admitted during his police interview that he panicked. He later formally admitted a charge of dangerous driving. He has two previous convictions for four offences, including for violence and an offence of drink driving from 2018.

Mitigating, Samreen Akhtar said Fenton was a joiner by trade, but had been off work sick since October. She said he was a recovering heroin addict and was on a methadone prescription.

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She said: "He expresses remorse. He simply panicked when he saw the police. He is deeply sorry for his conduct and wishes to apologise, though me, to the police officers."

Judge Richard Mansell KC told Fenton: "You saw the police were tailing you and you foolishly made off at speed. A pedestrian could have easily have stepped out and been killed or seriously injured.

"You reached a point down a busy residential street where you could not pass, so you decided to abandon the car."

He jailed him for eight months, suspended for 12 months, and gave him 15 rehabilitation days. He was also handed a 12-month driving ban and must sit an extended re-test to get his licence back.