Dangerous Bolton driver jailed after Mercedes lands upside down on parked car

Dramatic CCTV footage of the collision was shown in court before 25-year-old Levi Cull was sentenced to 14 months in jail.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Cull was behind the wheel of a Mercedes on March 28, taking it for a “test drive” as his brother was considering buying the vehicle.

But Cull, who was convicted of his first driving offence aged just 14, had no driving licence or insurance and tried to duck down in the driver’s seat when police spotted the vehicle on Bridgeman Street, Bolton at 2.30pm.

Levi Cull

His behaviour raised suspicions and so the black Mercedes was followed.

Harriet Lavin, prosecuting, told how the car accelerated heavily, reaching speeds of 60mph on the wrong side of the road.

After speeding through a red light at a busy junction it headed down side streets at up to 40mph.

On Gibbon Street Cull attempted to overtake taxi driver Shabbir Chauhan’s Toyota Auris but hit it, shunting it into a parked car

“The impact of the collision caused the Mercedes to roll over. It completed a full rotation and came to a stop, upside down, after colliding with a fence and another vehicle,” said Miss Lavin.

CCTV from a house showed the incident with the Mercedes landing, wrong way up, on top of Shahid Ahmed’s parked car.

PC Daniel Graham, who had been following the Mercedes, rushed to the crashed car and helped Cull and his passenger, Nasim Ali, out of the wreckage.

Mr Ali was taken to hospital but is not thought to have been seriously injured and Cull was arrested.

The court heard how Cull, of Langshaw Walk, Bolton, has 10 previous convictions including some for car crime. One dated back to when he was aged 14 was convicted of driving without a licence.

Cull pleaded guilty to committing the latest offences – dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance. He appeared in court a video link from prison for sentencing.

Nick Ross, defending appealed to the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh, to suspend a prison sentence.

“He has a lot of growing up to do. He holds his hands up in that regard,” he said.

He stressed that the pursuit had lasted less than a minute and Cull had not been drinking or taking drugs.

“Of course, the consequences were dramatic but fortunately, and clearly by dint of remarkable good fortune, there were no serious consequences in terms of injury or worse,” Mr Ross added.

“He understands this could have ended in catastrophic and tragic circumstances and he is a very lucky young man that he is not before the court for much more serious offences.”

But Judge Walsh commented that he had read a probation report which states that Cull “continues to demonstrate threatening and abusive behaviours involving a range of individuals depending upon his circumstances at any point in time” and he poses a high risk of serious harm.

The judge told Cull that only an immediate jail sentence could be justified and imprisoned him for 14 months.

He was banned from driving for three years and seven months, after which he will have to take an extended driving test.

Cull swore and stormed out of the video link room after hearing the sentence and so Judge Walsh ordered that he appear before him again on Thursday when he will consider whether to impose a further penalty for contempt of court.