Shocking footage has captured the moment a disqualified driver in a white van led police on a 90mph car chase which lasted 10 minutes.
Niall Thompson, 25, whizzed through red traffic lights, bumped his van onto the pavement, and weaved into the wrong side of the road attempting to evade police in the 12-mile chase.
He raced through 30mph limit residential areas in the busy town centre of Loughborough before finally getting caught – but has avoided jail.
Police said it was ‘extremely lucky’ that no one was hurt due to his driving.
Officers had been tipped off by intelligence that disqualified driver Thompson was behind the wheel on the A6, heading to Birstall, north of Leicester at around 10.35am on December 14 last year.
They followed him to the village of Sileby, but on exiting the village Thompson increased his speed to 60mph in a 40mph zone.
Officers pursuing then turned on their blue lights but Thompson failed to stop and a pursuit began.
During the police chase Thompson, from Loughborough, increased his speed to 70mph in a 40mph zone.
The vehicle then entered the Barrow upon Soar area, reaching speeds of 60mph on residential streets.
It then returned to the A6, where the van was seen straddling between lanes and reaching speeds of more than 90mph.
The van then entered Loughborough town centre and began overtaking other vehicles – reaching speeds of 60mph.
It was also seen driving through red lights, mounting a pavement, and ignoring ‘keep left’ bollards before coming to a stop in Ashby Square.
Thompson then left the vehicle and started to continue the chase on foot by running into a nearby business, but was quickly arrested by officers.
He admitted dangerous driving, two counts of driving while disqualified, and two counts of driving without insurance.
Police said there was also evidence that Thompson had driven in Loughborough the day before – while disqualified and without insurance.
He was jailed for nine months but his sentence was suspended for two years.
The judge at Leicester Crown Court also banned him from getting behind the wheel for two years.
He will have to take an extended retest.
Thompson was also slapped with a four-month curfew from 10pm until 6am at the hearing on Friday, January 12.
Police Constable James Yeoman, from Leicestershire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: ‘There is no doubt that Thompson put lives in danger, including his own, on that morning.
‘It is extremely lucky that no one was hurt as a result of his actions.
‘Officers calmly pursued him through the streets before he came to a stop where he was immediately arrested.
‘Dangerous driving puts lives at risk and will not be tolerated.
‘Leicestershire Police have highly trained police drivers to tackle these incidents and we will continue to take action against these offenders, bringing them before the courts.’
Locals have praised the police for bringing the chase to an end safely.
Freya Crofts said: ‘I think he was playing too many video games.’
Ash Reynolds added: ‘What a brilliant pursuit by an amazing officer. Great comms and tactics. The officer is a credit to the force.’
Sue Sprason said: ‘Brilliant driving by the police. Totally selfish driving by the van driver, complete disregard for the safety of other road users.’
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Cameron Roy
