BOLTON: Jaguar driver in 60mph police chase on deflated tyres

Early in the pursuit police managed to puncture all four of the vehicle’s tyres using a stinger, but Martin Hopkinson refused to stop, battling to control the vehicle for a further eight minutes before finally grinding to a halt in Cambria Street, Bolton.

At Bolton Crown Court Hopkinson, who was also known as Martin Smith, was jailed for 22 months and banned from applying for a driving licence for three years and 11 months.

Betsy Hindle, prosecuting, told how police spotted the Jaguar XF Sport on Deane Road, Bolton, at 11.35am on February 27 and followed it after realising it was being driven on cloned plates.

In an attempt to avoid a pursuit police used a stinger device in Plodder Lane, Farnworth, and officers requested the car to stop.

“Upon seeing the police vehicle the Jaguar turned into Marsh Lane and accelerated,” said Miss Hindle.

During the ensuring chase around roads and side streets heading towards Bolton, the car reached speeds of up to 60mph and other cars had to take avoiding action to prevent a collision.

“The vehicle is described as struggling to keep a grip of the road due to the deflated tyres,” said Miss Hindle.

“It continued to drive in an erratic and dangerous manner.

“At one point the front offside tyre is described as being almost off the rim and said to be skidding along the road surface.”

Jaguar at the end of the pursuit

The car ground to a halt in Cambria Street, Deane and 35-year-old Hopkinson ran off, but was chased and caught in a house in nearby Mercia Street.

When Hopkinson was searched police found a lock knife in the waistband of his shorts and the court heard that the Jaguar, worth £14,000 had been stolen in a burglary in Urmston six days earlier.

Hopkinson, who only had a provisional driving licence, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, handling a stolen car, having no licence or insurance and possessing a knife.

Jaguar at the end of the pursuit

The Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh, was told that Hopkinson, of Wildman Lane, Farnworth, has a lengthy criminal record for violence and dishonesty.

Laura Broome, defending said that the driver borrowed the car from a friend that day had “panicked” when he saw police but she stressed that no one was injured or damage caused during the pursuit.

She added that Hopkinson, a father-of-two, was carrying the knife because he had previously been the victim of a machete attack by a group of men, who smashed up his house and cars.

“He now has had some time to reflect and appreciates that carrying a knife was the wrong thing to do,” said Miss Broome.