Jailed: Fleeing burglar led police in 70mph chase on 30mph roads
A builder from Telford who helped to snatch a child's quad bike near Bridgnorth has been jailed after being pursued at speeds of up to 70mph on 30mph roads by police.
Self-employed Josh Corbett, 25, was part of a group who twice went to the property before stealing the £500 Yamaha quad bike overnight on September 8 last year. When he was spotted by police Corbett took them on an eight-mile chase.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that security cameras captured two people entering the property, in Acton Round, hours earlier at about 10.35pm on September 7 and removing items from a shed. They left and later on a group of three arrived in two vehicles, but this time they took the machine.
Philip Beardmore, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing held yesterday that officers on patrol in the early hours saw Corbett's white Vauxhall van and a Kawasaki travelling on the A458 in Morville heading away from Bridgnorth.
Mr Beardmore said: "They caught up with them in Much Wenlock where they drove at 70mph on the town centre roads which have a 30mph speed limit.
"They drove down the High Street ignoring the sirens and blue lights indicating that they should pull over. Some of the time they were driving at 40mph on 30mph streets. The defendant moved to the incorrect side of the carriageway which the officers believed was done to stop them from overtaking.
"This continued at speeds at 50mph to 70mph on roads that were either 40mph or 30mph zones."
Anti-clockwise
The pursuit included B4380 up the hill to Jiggers Bank, in Telford, to Heath Hill at Dawley where Corbett went anti-clockwise round the island. The chase eventually ended in nearby Chiltern Gardens. Both Corbett and the Kawasaki rider feld on foot, but the officers captured the defendant while the other man is still at large.
Corbett, of School Road, Donnington, in Telford, admitted burglary, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.
The court heard he had nine previous convictions including a community order and an 18-month ban for dangerous driving last year. He was also jailed for eight months at Stafford Crown Court for burglary in 2017.
For the latest burglary he was jailed for 10 months to run consecutively, for dangerous driving he was jailed for six months and for driving while disqualified three months concurrently. He was also banned from the road for two years and eight months.
The van will be confiscated. There was no separate penalty for having no insurance.
Geoffrey Dann, defending, said Corbett should be given credit for his guilty pleas.
The quad bike which belonged to an eight-year-old was recovered and returned to the family who stated that they were left "upset" by the incident.
