DARING BID

Onlooker jumps on car to halt theft

A young carpenter has described the hair-raising moment he launched himself onto a car and clung on in a daring bid to stop a thief from driving it away.

Diggory Rush sprang into action after spotting the Land Rover being snatched from Artillery Gardens in Canterbury.

The 23-year-old held onto the roof rack in an attempt to halt the theft, and was thrown into the road twice during the ordeal.

Now, banned driver Callum Wiltshire has been sentenced for a string of offences.

Wiltshire – who claimed he ordered someone else to carry out the theft – took the vehicle to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford where doctors were caring for his newborn child.

Mr Rush had been helping his mother’s boyfriend, Mick Etherton, with DIY outside the house when he heard the Discovery’s engine start last June.

Knowing the vehicle was Mr Etherton’s pride and joy, he sprinted over and saw a figure in a hoodie driving away in reverse.

He then launched himself onto the passenger side of the car but found the doors were locked and was forced to let go.

The King’s School employee was flung off again when he then attempted to jump onto the vehicle’s back side.

“There was no stopping him. I had a two-and-a-half ton car coming towards me,” Mr Rush, of St Stephen’s Road, said.

He miraculously escaped with just a few bruises, but said the incident left him “mentally quite shaken up”.

Wiltshire, previously of Woodrow Chase, Herne Bay, was arrested on August 2 after police saw the vehicle in Military Road.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how the Discovery was carrying stolen plates and that Wiltshire injured police officer Spencer Bennett as he tried to escape.

When the officer tried to turn off his engine, Wiltshire ignored him and drove on until his eventual arrest in Sturry Road.

The 21-year-old managed to avoid going straight to prison despite admitting driving dangerously, driving while disqualified , assaulting PC Bennett, theft of a number plates and identification tags. Judge Rupert Lowe suspended a 60 week jail sentence for 18 months, and imposed a six-month driving ban.

Thursday, February 7, 2019 Kentish Gazette (KG) www.kentonline.co.uk