A MOTOR-RACING fan who led police on a high-speed 21-mile chase through villages and countryside has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Luke Taylor, aged 37, of Station Road, Blisworth, appeared before Northampton Crown Court this week having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop.
The court heard police saw him doing “donuts” around a roundabout at the junction of Blackwell Hill and Ladybridge Drive, in Northampton, in his “highly-modified” Nissan 200. He then sped off when they tried to stop him.
Taylor, whose girlfriend was in the car with him, then led police on a high-speed chase, through Milton Malsor, Blisworth, Stoke Bruerne, Roade, Hartwell, Hanslope, Olney, and Ravenstone, reaching speeds of up to 90mph. The chase lasted 23 minutes.
Police said he drove with his headlights turned off, something Taylor denied, on the wrong side of the road and caused other cars to swerve out of the way.
He was sentenced to 40 weeks in prison, suspended for two years. He was order to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for two years.