PENNILESS drug addict Edward Fitzgerald stole a workman's van because he was worried his girlfriend might have been abducted, a court heard.
As he was chased in another car by the angry owner, Fitzgerald crashed into two other vehicles, including a taxi carrying two passengers. The impact with the cab turned the van on its side but Fitzgerald, who had been bailed by magistrates hours earlier, was rugby-tackled to the ground by brave taxi driver Jared Ridgley. The van, worth £4,000, was written off in the crash, and hundreds of pounds of damage caused to a Vauxhall Calibra and the taxi.
Fitzgerald, aged 34, of Lepp Crescent in Bury, was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for three years by Recorder Richard Brittain at Bolton Crown Court.
He admitted dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.
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