Dangerous driver fled from police at 120mph

Police in 40-mile chase of student which started on the M69

A STUDENT deliberately hit a police vehicle during a high-speed chase covering 40 miles.

The pursuit, five days into the lockdown, only came to an end when a stinger burst the already-disqualified driver’s tyres, Leicester Crown Court was told.

The culprit, 20-year-old Lesly Thamianpillai, was jailed, despite pleas for leniency as a result of the death of his grandmother on Monday and his parents needing him to help run the family shop in Leicester.

Thamianpillai, of Bucksburn Walk, Rushey Mead, Leicester, who is studying business management at Coventry University, admitted dangerous driving, driving when disqualified, having no insurance and driving with false number plates, in the early hours of March 28.

Sentencing him, Judge Martin Hurst told him: “This was terrifying, unforgivable and in no way justifiable.

“The excuse proffered is that you panicked and you’re immature. You caused considerable danger to the other road users and the police, who had better things to do.

“You have an appalling record for driving and have driven unlawfully on a number of occasions. This driving was almost as bad as it gets.”

“I bear in mind your responsibilities towards your parents’ shop and I am sorry to hear your grandmother died on Monday.”

Anthony Cheung, prosecuting, said the defendant was driving from Coventry to Leicester, in a car with false plates fitted to avoid him being detected as a disqualified driver.

He had been banned for a year for speeding and having no insurance.

Thamianpillai failed to stop for the police on the M69 and sped on to the M1 at Junction 21.

Over the course of the pursuit, his VW Golf was followed by three or four police cars at up to 120mph.

The defendant undertook two heavy goods vehicles on the hard shoulder at 80mph and sped through roadworks.

Leaving the motorway at Junction 26, he ignored red traffic lights and drove on the wrong side of the road at high speed, before rejoining the M1 heading south.

Throughout, the defendant was swerving to evade capture and struck at least one police vehicle, before being stopped at Junction 25, when a police stinger device punctured his tyres.

Elisabeth Evans said in mitigation: “His guilty pleas reflect his remorse for very poor driving.

“It’s fortunate no-one was injured. He acted in panic and made the wrong decision.”

Thamianpillai was sentenced to 18 months’ detention and banned from driving for two years and nine months.