West Yorkshire Police helicopter needed to keep up with stolen VW Golf driven at 90mph in residential area

Police spotted the car bearing false number plates in Castleford on June 1, so activated their blue lights to pull it over. But driver Ben Swallow took off at speed, prosecutor Harry Crowson told Leeds Crown Court.

During an 18-minute chase he travelled around a roundabout the wrong way, failed to stop at junctions and reached such highly-dangerous speeds in the 30mph zones that a police helicopter was scrambled to keep up with him.

Patrol officers eventually boxed him in with a tactical manoeuvre near Tesco on Fryston Road, and they had to smash the window to drag him out of the car. He tested positive for both cocaine and cannabis, but was never charged. The Golf had been stolen a week before.

The 26-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted handling stolen goods, driving dangerously and driving while banned. He also admitted assault on an emergency worker and criminal from May 23 when he was found on a roof in Castleford just after midnight. He gave a false name to the arresting officer and then struggled, hitting them to the head three times.

In addition, he admitted criminal damage and threats to damage property after he visited his parents’ home on June 6, despite being warned by them to stay away because of his tendency to visit when he wanted money for drugs.

He used a screwdriver to force open a window and threatened to smash others. Finally, he admitted a charge of possessing Class A drugs.

Mitigating, Erin Kitson-Parker conceded Staten has an “unenviable” criminal record, but had a difficult upbringing having had an operation on his legs when he was younger that “went wrong”, and left him with bowed legs.

On his offending, she said: “He understands what he did was wrong.”

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar gave him 18 months’ jail, a five-year restraining order to keep him away from his mother and a 33-month driving ban.

He told him: “These are just in a long line of offending which is from your addiction to drugs it seems. Your driving was appalling. Fortunately there was no collision.”