Stolen car smashes into tree after football field police chase

Shahrukh Ali, 22, was on bail for a previous dangerous driving charge after reversing his Citroen Xsara Picasso into an officer on a motorbike who had pulled him over on June 4 last year.

Then on December 21, he was spotted driving a stolen Renault Clio in Regent Street, Smethwick, before the dramatic chase unfolded.

Prosecutor Mark Phillips outlined the first incident at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He said: "The defendant was seen driving in Birmingham with his arm out of the window and using his mobile phone.

"He was flagged down by a police officer on a motorbike who was following him. He stopped and then reversed into the police motorbike.

"The officer managed to get out of the way. The defendant knew he was there.

"The officer and the bike were both pushed backwards, both ending up on the ground in the road."

Later that night, officers found the car had been abandoned and tracked down Ali.

They found him upstairs at his home, where he claimed to know nothing about the incident, but a shirt matching the description of the driver was found in his room, still warm and covered in sweat. He was arrested and bailed.

Mr Phillips continued: "On December 21, he was found driving a car which had been stolen four weeks earlier. The police followed him with blue lights and sirens, but he then led them on a chase which lasted around four minutes and went on for two miles.

"During the chase, he hit a parked vehicle and reversed into a police car. He drove down a residential area and failed to stop.

"He then drove up a grass embankment and across a football pitch in an attempt to get away.

"He was unable to get off the land because two bollards were in the way, and he ended up smashing into a tree. He tried to run but was stopped nearby, exhausted.

"When interviewed, he told officers he had been asked to move the car for a friend, who had offered him £100, and had no idea it was stolen. That was clearly a lie as his guilty plea indicates. Police recovered £1,455 in cash from the car."

Ali, of St Paul's Road, Smethwick, pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving, one of aggravated vehicle taking and one of driving without insurance.

Defence barrister Blondelle Thompson told Judge Andrew Lockhart QC: "He was 21 at the time of the offence, and he was going through a troubled time with his family.

"He knows how stupid he has been, considering the second incident was when he was on bail, and he is ashamed.

Judge Lockhart sentenced Ali to 15 months in prison and banned from driving for two years.