A Stoke-on-Trent man has been jailed for 14 months after taking a motor vehicle and then driving it in a cross-border police pursuit in February.
Joshua Daniel Twigg, aged 30, of Mollison Road, Meir, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle dangerously and not guilty to driving while disqualified; taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent; and driving without valid insurance over incidents between Monday 8 February and Wednesday 10 February.
He was sentenced on Wednesday 31 March at Stafford Crown Court.
He was initially arrested after a police pursuit on 10 February that followed the theft of a car from the Uttoxeter area on 8 February.
At about 1.55pm on 10 February Staffordshire Police were alerted by the forces of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire that a vehicle believed stolen was being pursued across the border with the support of a police helicopter.
The Vauxhall Insignia had been spotted in Nottinghamshire and had failed to stop when asked to do so by officers on the M1. It had at times reached speeds of up to 120mph and was driven in a dangerous manner.
The pursuit continued through Derbyshire and across the Staffordshire border. The vehicle travelled along the A50 towards Stoke before heading towards Draycott-in-the-Moors and then Cheadle along Cheadle Road. It came to a stop on Harplow Lane in Cheadle and Twigg was detained while fleeing.
The Insignia had been stolen between the hours of 2.30pm and 3pm from the victim’s place of work.
Twigg was sentenced to a 10-month jail term and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £156 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, and he was also found guilty of taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and sentenced to another four months of jail time. He received no extra penalties for the other two offences.
As well as the 14-month jail term, Twigg will also serve a 25-month driving ban upon his release.
