Dangerous driver avoids jail term

RIVER RUN: Footage from a police helicopter shows the defendant
attempting to escape police by crossing the River Cole, near Forth Drive

A MAN who led police on a "dangerous" chase through the morning rush hour has received a suspended prison sentence.
Christopher King, 38, had been spotted behind the wheel of a stolen Ford Fiesta on the Chester Road, Castle Bromwich earlier this year. The vehicle in question had been reported stolen in Sutton Coldfield only an hour before.
Police deployed a stinger, which caught the car's tyres, but King was nonetheless able to speed away through the streets of North Solihull.
The defendant had eventually abandoned the vehicle off Forth Drive, Chelmsley Wood, and attempted to escape on foot across the nearby River Cole. He was arrested by officers in nearby Elmore Close.
He was found to have a set of keys on his person, which had a chip coded to match the stolen vehicle.
Following on from the chase on January 26, King, from Kitts Green, subsequently admitted dangerous driving, handling the stolen car and motoring offences.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (March 9), he had been handed an 18 month suspended sentence, a three year driving ban and was ordered to complete 120 hours' unpaid work.
Det Con Brett Stephenson, from Force CID, said: "He made every effort to get away, including driving the wrong way around traffic islands, going through red lights and driving on the wrong side of roads.
"King’s driving was completely reckless and put other road users and pedestrians at risk."