Dad-to-be guilty of drug driving

70MPH IN 20 ZONE WITH NO INSURANCE

A MAN stole his mother’s car and led police on a car chase the wrong way down a dual carriageway after finding out he was going to be a dad.

Thomas Galloway had argued on the phone with his girlfriend when she told him the news, and then decided to take the VW Golf to get to her house at 1 o’clock in the morning on February 2.

But Teesside Crown Court heard police spotted the car in a state of disrepair, and used sirens to tell the driver to pull over.

The 22-year-old, who said he panicked on seeing a police car in his rear view mirror, drove off, reaching speeds of 70mph in 20mph zones through Hartlepool.

Last Thursday, prosecutor Christopher Bevan said Galloway flew through residential estates at 60mph, drove the wrong way down a main road and even across a field, before hitting a kerb and coming to a stop.

He then got out of the car and ran but was caught and arrested moments later.

Mr Bevan said Galloway confessed to police that he had taken his mum’s car, and he had no driving licence and so no insurance.

He was found to have THC in his system, which is a compound of cannabis. He had damaged his mother’s car during the chase.

Galloway, of Bruntoft Avenue in the West View area of Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to driving with a controlled drug above the specified limited; driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving with no insurance.

He had no previous criminal convictions.

Sarah Hopkinson, mitigating, said her client had taken his mother’s car after the row with his girlfriend because he wanted to discuss the pregnancy with her.

He had a only provisional driving licence and admits he had smoked cannabis in the days before February 2, but not on that day. Ms Hopkinson said Galloway admits he was “stupid” and he regrets what he did. He has been signed off from his job for a further three months, because of his ADHD and “irritability.”

The court heard Galloway receives employment and support allowance and has since moved back in with his parents who Ms Hopkinson called “a protective force” around him. His girlfriend, parents and other family members sat in the public gallery at Teesside

Crown Court to support him.

Ms Hopkinson told the court Galloway and his partner will attend a scan on July 18, to find out the gender of their baby and that the baby is due in December.

The council have allocated the couple a house, but her client must ring the council after the court hearing to tell them the outcome as it may affect whether they will get the council house after all.

Judge Howard Crowson told Galloway: “You’ve got some growing up to do. You’re a little immature. You didn’t think things through, and you suffer from ADHD. You might look at me as an old man preaching to you, but a lot of people who come to these courts use cannabis. For some it’s a highly dangerous drug.”

The judge handed Galloway a two-year community order with a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement. He must also attend 25 rehabilitation days and won’t be able to take his driving test for 18 months, and he must pass an extended test before he is allowed on the roads.

Galloway was ordered to pay £245 court costs from his benefit payments, at a rate of £20 a month.

He will have to come back to court each month for the judge to check on his progress.