Jail for no licence police chase driver
JON MACPHERSON
AN uninsured and unlicensed driver who led police on a chase through Hyndburn reaching speeds of 60mph in 20mph residential areas has been jailed.
Prolific criminal David Osbaldeston was spotted by police in Oswaldtwistle and officers believed his Ford Mondeo may have been using cloned plates.
Burnley Crown Court heard how a stinger device was used to try and stop the 23-yearold, and when that failed he sped police Oswaldtwistle Accrington.
Osbaldeston, who had three passengers in his car, failed to stop at mini-roundabouts, went the wrong way around the large roundabout at the Accrington Tesco Extra store and forced one car to slam on their brakes, the court heard.
He was eventually caught in the car park at Accrington and Rossendale College Broad Oak Campus.
Osbaldeston, of Spring Street, Rishton, pleaded guilty to dan- away from through and gerous driving and driving without a licence and insurance. He was jailed for six months and disqualified from driving for 14 months.
Stephen parker, prosecuting, told the court how the chase started at around 9am on October 26 this year.
He told the court: “The police were in Oswaldtwistle in relation to other enquiries relating to another vehicle.
“During the course of that investigation they had cause to keep an eye out for a Ford Mondeo which it was suspected was on cloned plates.
“It had been registered to someone in the south of England but had activated local cameras in Blackburn.”
Mr Parker said the officer followed Osbaldeston before a traffic officer tried to deploy the stinger.
When it failed the chasing police car activated its blue lights before Osbaldeston sped off and reached speeds of 60mph in a 20mph zone.
The three-mile chase ended after Osbaldeston’s car engine failed.
Mr Parker said when the defendant was arrested he told police that the vehicle was suffering from ‘mechanical problems due to defective plugs’ and black smoke had been coming out of the car during the chase.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Woolman said: “You came out of prison in August and bought yourself this car quite deliberately even though you had no insurance and no licence which was a reckless thing to do.
“By and large you drove too fast in residential areas.”