Bolton: Banned driver crashed after Chorley New Road chase

Mohammed Khan, 27, was spotted by police driving ‘suspiciously’ in a grey Audi on Chorley New Road on August 16 last year.

Police gave chase and tried to box Khan in, but Bolton Crown Court heard he drove off again when an officer tried to get into the car.

Virginia Hayton, prosecuting, said: “Before he could open the door to the car, he did a wheel turning almost hitting the officer and drove off.”

She added: “It’s a built-up area with terraced housing.”

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Hayton told the court that the officers had decided to give chase after running the car through the police national computer.

She explained how Khan, of Roland Road, had sped away at speeds of 70mph in a 30mph zone, at times on the wrong side of the road, before crashing into a parked car.

His passenger ran off while Khan himself moved over to his seat to try and convince police he had not been the driver.

Khan then tried to push past the officers and escape on foot but was arrested on Chorley New Road.

He was interviewed by police the same day and admitted he did not have a licence but still claimed he had not been the driver and that there was a third man in the car.

But when brough to the magistrates court he indicated guilty pleas to dangerous driving, driving while banned and driving without insurance.

Khan had already been serving a driving ban for a ‘remarkably similar’ offence and was breaching a conditional discharge he had been given in 2021 for possession of a prohibited weapon.

This ban was the reason he did not have a licence while driving on August 16.

Stuart Neale, defending, argued that Khan was entitled to credit for having pleaded guilty and pointed out that he had already been in custody since his arrest in August.

He also told the court that he had been affected by brain damage which left him feeling ‘lethargic’ in the afternoons.

Mr Neale said: “There was considerable lasting damage done by his medical condition.”

He added: “The idea of him doing a day’s work is still a long way off.”

But Judge Nicholas Clarke KC reminded the court that this was ‘a bad case of dangerous driving.’

Addressing the defendant, he said: “Foolishly you had become involved in buying and selling vehicles, a ludicrous proposition for someone without a licence.”

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Judge Clarke also pointed out that the court believed Khan’s passenger had been involved in ‘nefarious activities.’

He also noted that Khan’s previous driving offence had been very similar to the new one he had committed on Chorley New Road, ‘right down to the same make of car.’

Judge Clarke sentenced Khan to a total of six months in prison, which he has effectively already served on remand, and banned him from driving for another three years.