A teenager has been given a suspended jail sentence after he led police in a high-speed car chase through the centre of Huddersfield in the early hours of the morning.
And Jack Gregory was told by a judge: “You could have killed someone”.
Leeds Crown Court heard police saw Gregory’s Vauxhall Corsa on Castlegate because it had no headlights or tail lights illuminated but the internal lights were on inside the car.
Officers decided to stop him and switched on their blue lights but the teenager immediately increased his speed and turned into Queen Street towards the busy centre.
Beth Richardson prosecuting said the speed limit was 30mph but Gregory reached 50mph. He drove straight over a mini roundabout in Lord Street before performing a handbrake turn into Northumberland Street and driving through a red light without slowing down.
Gregory then drove the wrong way down Railway Street forcing two oncoming taxis to brake to avoid a collision before driving through the bus station, emerging by driving through another red light.
Miss Richardson said the teenager, then only 17, did another handbrake turn which spun him 180 degrees so he was facing the police vehicle.
At that point the policeman driving tried to block Gregory going any further but he then set off in reverse the length of Springwood Avenue doing around 20mph backwards clipping a parked Mercedes taking off its wing mirror as he turned the corner.
“He then performed a ‘J’ turn where driving in reverse he spun the car 180 degrees again so he was once more facing forward and at that point he stalled the engine,” she said.
One officer tried to grab him through the open window as he was trying to get going and eventually punched the teenager in the face to stop him driving off again. Both officers then pulled the struggling Gregory out through the window as he tried to resist them.
After he was restrained he told them: “I know, I’m an idiot.” He said he had bought the car for £200 and had no insurance and was only a provisional licence holder.
Hannah Lynch representing Gregory said it was an unusual offence for the first time he had ever been in trouble but the report indicated at that time he was an unhappy and lonely young man. Since then he had pulled himself together and had moved to the Ipswich area with the support of his uncle.
Gregory, now 18, formerly of New North Road, Huddersfield admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, and not having a full licence or insurance on May 1. He was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Recorder Tony Hawks told him he was lucky not to be locked up immediately. “You could have killed somebody.”
