Teenager's second police chase in two months ended with fence crash and foot chase

Tyrelle Harris led the officers on alarmingly dangerous pursuits speeding down busy carriageways on the wrong side of the road forcing other motorists to take evasive action, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The 18-year-old ignored an order to stop from a police patrol that saw him overtaking a line of traffic in Powis Avenue, Tipton, at around 4pm on May 25, said Mr Alexander Barbour, prosecuting.

Harris reached 50mph in a 30 zone as the silver Renault Clio hurtled down Walker Street and careered over speed bumps before clipping a kerb in Horseley Road, continued the prosecutor.

He went down a one-way street in the wrong direction leaving motorists frantically trying to get out of his way and rushed the wrong way round the Great Bridge traffic island.

Then the teenager raced head on into oncoming traffic at 65mph on the wrong side of the road, scraping past a double decker bus, went through two red lights and headed down another one-way road in the opposite direction before police ruled the four-mile pursuit too dangerous and it was abandoned.

The car was dumped soon afterwards and Harris was later traced and arrested.

He was given bail and was next seen by police on July 10 driving a Vauxhall Astra along Birmingham New Road towards the M5 junction at 60mph shortly before midnight.

He refused to stop, went down a road on the wrong carriageway, reached 78mph while heading towards Smethwick before losing control and colliding with a fence after a six-mile pursuit, said Mr Barbour. He fled on foot but was caught by police.

Simon Williams, defending, conceded the driving had been very bad but pointed out Harris had been held in custody for four months, the equivalent of an eight-month jail term, while waiting for the case to be heard.

The defendant, from Beddoe Close, Tipton, admitted two offences of dangerous driving and was told by Judge Martin Jackson: "On each occasion you were fortunate not to have killed yourself or somebody else."

He agreed that eight months detention would have been the likely sentence and, since it had already been served, gave the teenager a two-year community order with 120 hours unpaid work and a three-month night time curfew.