Drink-driver Daniel Brown sped through Scarborough and outskirts at upto 120mph and 'toyed' with police following him - here's his court sentence

Daniel Murray Brown, 28, didn’t even stop after police laid a ‘stinger’ on the road and instead put his indicator on as if he was about to slow down – before trying to speed off again.

The pursuit in Scarborough began just after midnight when a Seat Leon whizzed past officers talking to pedestrians on Castle Road.

“Such was the sound from (Brown’s) revving engine and the speed (at which) he passed the officers that they got into their marked 4x4 car and tried to catch him,” said prosecutor Stephanie Hancock at York Crown Court.

Brown, a former university student and qualified mechanic, ignored the flashing blue lights and wailing siren and the Seat was soon out of sight as it bombed through the town.

“Due to the speeds he was travelling at, (police) weren’t able to catch up with him,” added Ms Hancock.

“He drove through residential and built-up areas at high speed and went through a red light (in) York Place before taking a very-sharp right turn at speed.”

Murray sped through another red light at the top of Ramshill after overtaking a vehicle and driving on the wrong side of the road.

“Officers struggled to keep up with him as he drove on the wrong side of the road and took the ‘racing line’ up to the Osgodby bypass,” added Ms Hancock.

“He drove along a 3km stretch between Albemarle Crescent and the Osgodby bypass - a 30mph zone - at 63mph.”

Murray sped onto the A165 and country lanes on the outskirts of Scarborough where another vehicle had to pull over to avoid the Seat, which was being driven at “very high speeds” on the wrong side of the road, cutting “all the corners” along a six-mile stretch of the road.

The speeds were so ludicrous that the advanced trained pursuing police driver was left in the Seat’s wake despite driving at speeds of up to 116mph.

Ms Hancock said officers had to radio for assistance and another police unit joined the chase, laying a ‘stinger’ at the junction of the A1039 at Muston which burst the Seat’s tyres, forcing the fleeing motorist to slow down.

Brown put the car’s left-hand indicator on as if he were about to pull over and the police car duly slowed down as it appeared the chase was finally over. But then the Seat accelerated again as Brown tried to swerve around the “very slow to stationary” police vehicles.

Officers reacted “very quickly” and the two police vehicles managed to “box in” the Seat. The tactical action caused damage to both police vehicles.

“Even then, when the defendant had very little option (but to give himself up), he put the car into reverse and put his foot down on the accelerator,” said Ms Hancock.

His wheels “smoked” as the Seat was boxed in again, but still Brown tried to drive away.

When it became clear that he was well and truly trapped, three officers got out of their vehicles and smashed the Seat’s windscreen and driver’s window so he couldn’t see out of it in case he tried to drive off again.

One of the officers drew out a Taser gun and pointed it at Brown “because the risk was deemed so high”.

They finally got him out of the car and arrested him. A subsequent breath test at Scarborough Police Station showed he was over twice the legal drink-drive limit during the harum-scarum chase in the early hours of January 4.

Brown, of Westbourne Grove, Scarborough, told officers that before the incident he had been drinking at a casino in Scarborough, but he didn’t show “any remorse” other than providing a prepared statement with a formal apology.

However, he admitted dangerous driving and drink-driving and appeared for sentence on Tuesday.

His defence counsel said Brown had “severe mental-health issues” at the time and had stopped taking his medication for depression, deciding to “self-medicate” with alcohol instead.

“He felt particularly down at the time of this incident and he was simply not thinking straight,” she added.

“He is very ashamed and very sorry for his behaviour (which is) entirely out of character.”

She said Brown was “intelligent and skilled” and had never been in trouble before.

He had found new work with a local company after studying engineering to degree level and his employers were “shocked” at his arrest because he was seen as a “shining example to other employees”.

But judge Simon Hickey described Brown’s driving as “appalling” and said that although the defendant was otherwise a “hard-working, decent young man”, jail was inevitable because other people’s lives had been put at risk.

Brown was jailed for eight months and given a 30-month driving ban.