Banned motorist leaves trail of destruction in frantic escape bid

Sandeep Singh left a trail of destruction in his wake while frantically trying to escape from pursuing police, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The 26-year-old was ordered to stop after being spotted at the wheel of a BMW X5 with false number plates on November 3 last year, explained Mr David Jackson, prosecuting.

Singh sped off and went the wrong way round a traffic island onto Bagnall Street, West Bromwich and headed through a housing estate until reaching Poultney Street where the car went into reverse in a bid to disable the police car which drove onto the pavement to successfully avoid a collision as the BMW hit a garden wall.

It drove off again at up to 75mph in a 30 limit onto the A41 dual carriageway where it cut across a lorry into Dudley Street and reached 60mph in a 20mph zone, continued the prosecutor.

It knocked off a wing mirror from a Ford Focus before mounting the pavement and crashing into the back of a Ford Fiesta, leaving its female driver with whiplash injuries.

The BMW then went on the wrong side of the road in Carter's Green and hurtled head on into a Hyundai with such force it drove the engine compartment into the interior. Its driver Ms Balbir Kaur was seriously injured and and trapped in the wreckage with a broken left thigh bone and three fractured ribs. She said in a victim impact statement: "This has ruined my life."

The BMW was also badly damaged and Singh tried to flee on foot but soon gave himself up. He was on bail for possession of a stun gun and another weapon for which he was jailed for eight years in January this year.

The defendant, from Charter Road, Tipton, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years by Judge Amjad Nawaz with a three year diving ban on release.

This sentence will be consecutive to the term currently being served by Singh.