Suspended sentence for man who drove stolen car wrong way around roundabout during 'dangerous' chase

A 'dangerous' driver who drove a stolen car the wrong way around a roundabout three times, and reached speeds of 95 miles per hour while trying to evade police has walked away from Sheffield Crown Court with a suspended sentence.

Describing the driving carried out by defendant, Curtis Bolton, during the course of the 20-minute pursuit on September 22, 2022 the judge, Recorder Angharad Davies, told him: "You drove at speeds of at least 95 miles per hour (mph). It's clear you drove in the middle of the road, went through red traffic lights, driving 65mph in a 30 zone. You went the wrong way around a roundabout at least three times, which was incredibly dangerous."

Prosecuting barrister, Ian Goldsack, told Sheffield Crown Court that the officers pursuing Bolton, aged 26, in a police car had to abandon the chase, which was carried out on the A61 towards Barnsley, due to safety concerns; but a police helicopter was able to keep sight of the stolen vehicle being driven by Bolton.

The pursuit only came to an end when Bolton abandoned the vehicle, before he and a juvenile passenger he was travelling with attempted to escape on foot, but were both subsequently apprehended by the police, the court heard, during a hearing held on August 29, 2023.

The grey Ford Fiesta Titanium vehicle used by Bolton, of Canada Street, Barnsley to carry out the dangerous driving was stolen from the owner's driveway at a property in the Staincross village of Barnsley.

Mr Goldsack told Sheffield Crown Court that the owner, the complainant, realised the car had vanished from his driveway at around 9.30am on September 20, 2022. The complainant initially believed burglars must have taken the keys from his home, but the property had not been broken into, and he later found both sets of keys, and concluded that the vehicle must have been taken away 'by some other means'.

At around 12.50pm on the day the theft of the vehicle was discovered, a driver travelling in the Birdwell area of Barnsley pulled into a lay-by, and noticed a grey Ford Fiesta vehicle which had a single occupant, the court heard.

"The driver appeared to be slumped forward," Mr Goldsack said, adding that the other driver 'approached the vehicle' and tapped on the drivers' side window, in a bid to rouse the vehicle's sole occupant.

"She noticed there were some packages with white powder inside the vehicle. He didn't stir and she called the police; and as she was doing so flagged down another vehicle. That driver was able to rouse the occupant, this defendant, who did get out of the car, urinated before getting back into the car and driving slowly off, prior to police arriving," Mr Goldsack said, adding that the other driver later realised the vehicle she had seen in the lay-by was the same as one featured in a social media post she had seen circulated concerning a stolen vehicle.

During a video parade, the driver of the other vehicle subsequently identified Bolton as the man she saw sleeping in the stolen Ford Fiesta, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the owner of the vehicle - which contained £750 of unrecovered personal effects including expensive sunglasses when it was stolen - detailed how he had been forced to use trains and taxis to travel to work as a result of the theft; which has also left his family feeling 'anxious' and as though they have to be hyper-vigilant upon hearing any noise from outside.

Bolton has 38 previous offences from 18 court appearances for crimes including a number of driving matters, and pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicle taking at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Joel Wootten said his client did not steal the vehicle, had merely 'borrowed' it from a friend; and was living in it at the time of the offences while being 'on the run' and wanted on recall to prison for failing to attend a number of court-sanctioned appointments.

Mr Wootten continued: "He had been kidnapped for several days, and it's during that time he missed several appointments. He stopped taking medication for depression and ADHD and it's that situation that gave rise to this offence."

Mr Wootten said Bolton accepted he had taken the Class B drug, ketamine, when he was found sleeping in a lay-by in the stolen Fiesta, but had not taken drink or drugs at the time of the police pursuit, which had been evidenced through his clear roadside substance tests.

Mr Wootten said that during his time on remand, Bolton has got himself into in a more stable position after resuming the use of his prescribed medication and had also secured both accommodation, as well as a job through his brother - something, he suggested, would be at risk if Bolton was handed a custodial sentence.

Recorder Davies said she found Bolton to have a 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation' and sentenced him to 14 months' custody, suspended for two years, ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work; 25 sessions of a rehabilitation activity requirement and to pay £700 in compensation to the complainant. She also handed Bolton a 12-month driving ban.