Man who crashed into Wolverhampton school gates banned from driving
A man who crashed his out-of-control car into the gates of a primary school after a police chase has been banned from driving for a year.
Matthew Bassi had been out drinking at a nightclub in Wolverhampton on August 24 when police spotted him driving erratically on Penn Road.
Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard 27-year-old Bassi drove his Vauxhall Corsa through a red light and failed to stop when pursued.
Mrs Maggie Meakin, prosecuting, said Bassi turned onto Graiseley Hill and lost control of his car, eventually coming to a stop when he crashed the vehicle into a set of metal gates at the entrance to the Graiseley Hill Primary School.
"Both Bassi and a passenger fled the scene after the car had crashed," she said.
"Bassi was tracked by a sniffer dog and found shortly after hiding in a nearby garden."
Mr Matthew Fiddy, defending, said his client was full of remorse for his actions.
"He knows it was a ridiculous and embarrassing thing to do and he is appalled by his actions." Mr Fiddy said Bassi refused to give a blood sample because he had already had five injections and was scared of needles. Bassi, of Wyche Avenue, Kings Heath, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
He was disqualified from driving for a year and fined £375, with £180 costs.
