Mum high on drink and drugs led police on 110mph chase

A Mum-of-two was high on cocaine and twice the drink-drive limit when she reached 110mph on the A38 through Derbyshire during a terrifying police chase.

Charlotte North’s Ford Fiesta bounced off the ground as she went over speed bumps in her bid to flee, a court heard.

The 29-year-old twice mounted the pavement, dangerously overtook queues of traffic, jumped at least one red light and went the wrong way round a roundabout during the 37-minute pursuit across two counties.

And when she did finally pull into the car park of a pub near Ashbourne she rammed one of the police vehicles head-on and reversed into another.

Now she faces an anxious wait to see whether or not she will be jailed after Derby’s top judge adjourned the case so she could be told more about the offender before sentencing her.

Judge Nirmal Shant QC said: “Miss North, the way you drove on that day could easily have killed somebody, including yourself.

“You can have absolutely no complaints if I send you to custody and that might still be the case as I haven’t made my mind up what to do with you yet.

“But it is only fair to you that all of the information is there for me at the next hearing.

“I will require an update from social services about whether there is any alternative care arrangements for your children should you receive a custodial sentence.”

Lucky Thandi, prosecuting at Derby Crown Court, said the offence began shortly before 10pm on September 7, 2019.

She said police had followed the Ford due to the erratic way it was being driven.

Miss Thandi said North initially stopped the vehicle and mounted a pavement but then sped off when one of the police officers got out of the car.

She said: “The defendant drove at excessive speed over bumps that the car was described as ‘bouncing.’

“She went the wrong way round a roundabout and sped at 90mph towards the M1 before going over onto the A38 heading towards Derby.

“On the A38 she was captured driving at 110mph.

“As she was now over the border Nottinghamshire police were joined by Derbyshire police.”

Miss Thandi said North left the A38 and drove through a number of villages until she pulled over into the car park of a pub in Edlaston Lane, near Yeaveley.

Once there she rammed a police car as she tried to leave.

And when she was arrested and tested she blew twice the drinkdrive limit and was over the limit for driving with cocaine. North, of Upper Mexborough Road, Selston, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while uninsured, drink-driving, drug-driving and criminal damage. David Outterside, mitigating, said his client has children aged seven and five and had worked as a team leader at a local Tesco store.

He said: “The poor choices Charlotte North was making at this time were all linked to her drug abuse. “She is now completely drug-free.”

The way you drove on that day could easily have killed somebody, including yourself.

Judge Nirmal Shant QC