A “driving addict” who crashed into a broken down car on the M606 in Bradford has been jailed for trying to cover up his crime.

Cleckheaton man Adam Virr, 30, had previous convictions for dangerous driving on his record and had been given a suspended prison by a crown court judge just three weeks before the collision on March 29 this year.

Virr, of Brooklyn Road, was brought back before the judge who had given him a chance and today he was jailed for a total of 18 months for breaching the suspended sentence and the latest offences of driving while disqualified and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The court heard how a female motorist’s BMW car broke down in the outside lane of the M606 and she was standing away from the vehicle waiting for the police when Virr drove his partner’s Volkswagen Golf into the rear of the BMW.

Prosecutor Andrew Horton said Virr together with his 32-year-old partner Fiona Smith and her dog got out of the VW Golf and left the scene after getting a lift from another motorist.

Police who arrived at the scene discovered Smith’s name and address on documents in the car, but when they called at her home in High Street, Cleckheaton, just over an hour later they got no reply.

About 20 minutes later Smith telephoned 999 to report a burglary at her home and when police officers went to the house they were shown a smashed vase and a window through which the intruders were said to have entered the house before stealing keys to the VW Golf.

Mr Horton said two or three hours of police time was wasted along with about 30 minutes of forensic investigations at the house.

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The next morning when Smith was questioned again she admitted making up the story about the burglary, but still did not reveal that Virr had been driving her car.

Mr Horton said the airbag which had been deployed in the collision was later tested and Virr’s DNA was found on it.

Smith, who had limited previous convictions, also pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of public justice, but her four month jail term was suspended for a year after Virr submitted a letter in which he said he had pressurised his partner into making the false burglary report.

Smith, who has a young daughter, will have to do 100 hours unpaid work as part of her suspended prison sentence.

Judge Colin Burn heard from a probation officer and Virr’s barrister that he was addicted to driving.

Barrister Thomas Stanway said his client had run out of his prescribed medication at the time of the offences and he panicked after the collision because he knew he was disqualified and subject to the suspended prison sentence.

The court heard that Virr is currently banned from driving for five years and must also take an extended test before lawfully driving on the roads again.

Judge Burn said Virr had a “compulsive desire” to get behind the wheel of a car and part of the suspended sentence, which had been imposed for offences including dangerous driving, had to be activated.

He said Virr had made it worse by getting involved in “storytelling” with the police and that had resulted in a huge drain on police resources.