Lynn dangerous driver in jail for Xmas
A YOUNG father who drove at speeds up to 80mph through built-up parts of Gaywood and Lynn was yesterday sent to prison for 16 weeks for dangerous driving.
District judge Phillip Browning, sitting at Lynn Magistrates' Court, told Mark Dale (23) that he would go straight to prison because it had been a "staggering speed" and a "highly dangerous piece of driving" – and it was a miracle that nobody was injured.
Prosecutor Richard White said police spotted a blue Vauxhall Astra, being driven by Dale, of 179 Hillington Square, Lynn, weaving across the centre line on the A149 Queen Elizabeth Way, near the town, at 1.50am on October 24.
The police car's blue lights and sirens were activated to indicate the Astra should stop. But instead it turned off at the roundabout near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and increased speed to 80mph in the 30mph zone along Gayton Road, with houses either side.
The Astra activated the speed camera near the Queensway junction, went through a red light at the Gaywood Clock junction and sped past King Edward VII School at 70mph, straddling the centre white line.
Mr White said police saw all four of the Astra's wheels leave the road surface at the top of Dodman's Bridge because of the speed it was going and Dale lost control briefly, before regaining it. They also saw smoke coming from the car.
The Astra went through another red traffic light into the central one-way system. It dropped speed near the railway station but then increased to 50mph in London Road and suddenly veered right into Millfleet, without indicating and with smoke pouring from its tyres, he said.
In the 20mph zone along South Quay, the Astra was doing 60mph before turning into Queen Street, Saturday Market Place and back towards Millfleet. It eventually stopped in Bridge Street and Dale ran off towards Carmelite Terrace. He was caught after a struggle in which he and an officer fell against a fence or gate.
In mitigation, solicitor Giles Debenham said his client, father of a ten-month-old child, had lost his job because of his behaviour that night. He had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, using the car without insurance and obstructing a police officer, at the earliest opportunity.
For some inexplicable reason, his only thought had been to get himself home that night. "In those few minutes of madness he undid a great deal of good that he had done in the previous 12 months," he said.
Beside the prison sentence, Dale was disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to take an extended driving test before getting a full licence. No separate penalties were imposed for the insurance and obstruction offences.
Mr Browning told him: "Like many young men today you can't comply with the motoring laws." It had been a long police chase and he had a "dreadful driving record," he said.
Email to a friend
Print this page Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Local pages
Looking for a...
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Kings Lynn
Thursday 09 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 16 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South west
