A dangerous driver reversed into a police car and injured an officer after ‘panicking and acting frantically’ a court heard.

Callum Schofield, 30 of Tonge Moor Road, had been driving a BMW around the Atherton area when police in an unmarked vehicle noticed him.

Bolton Crown Court heard how this became a chase after Schofield seemed to try and lose them.

Keith Jones, prosecuting, said: “He attempted a series of turns which officers believed to be effectively a test to see if they were following him.

Mr Jones told the court how Schofield then ran a red traffic light and hit another car in his attempt to escape the officers.

He drove onto Shuttle Street, Lime Street and then across a junction towards Elliott Street, Tyledsley in an attempt to get away and drove through several no entry signs.

The Bolton News: Schofield drove onto Elliott Street, Tyldesley to try and escape policeSchofield drove onto Elliott Street, Tyldesley to try and escape police (Image: Google Maps)

He eventually stopped outside a church at which point a passenger was able to flee.

But when a police officer tried to get into the BMW to activate the handbrake, Schofield reversed and hit the front of their car, injuring one of the officers right legs in the process.

Mr Jones said: “The officers described the driver as panicking and acting frantically.”

He added: “This was clearly a reckless act in a panic but it does involved using the vehicle as a weapon.

Schofield was then arrested and found to be already banned from driving and without insurance.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while banned, driving without insurance and assault.

Joshua Bowker, defending, argued that Schofield deserved credit for having pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.

He said that Schofield had “panicked and made a series of further bad decisions” but had not intended to injure anyone.

He had simply done so “in desperation to flee the scene.”

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Mr Bowker claimed that Schofield had shown in previous years that he was capable of “stepping away from criminality” and that was what he now wanted to do.

But the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh ruled that Schofield’s crimes were serious enough to deserve an immediate prison sentence.

He jailed Schofield for 14 months and banned him from the roads for three years.