A young farmer who sped away from police at 90mph through the North Yorkshire countryside while over the drink drive limit has been spared jail.
Max Reed, 21, from Breckenbrough, near Thirsk, drove out to an all-night garage for cigarettes in his girlfriend’s Audi after watching the England v Italy European Championship final in July.
But he was spotted by police on the A168 near Thirsk who noticed the vehicle had no lights on, York Crown Court heard.
During the ensuing car chase along A roads, Reed switched his lights on and drove at such speeds that he briefly managed to pull away from the pursuing BMW 330, a high-performance marked police car, said prosecutor Brooke Morrison.
Reed drove down the A168 at about 90mph and then turned into Topcliffe, speeding through the small village at between 80mph and 90mph in a 30mph zone.
The Audi eventually crashed as it sped round a sharp bend and ended up on its roof.
Reed ran off but was caught following a short foot chase involving a police dog.
His passenger was found “suspended upside down” in the vehicle. He was “confused and groggy”, said Ms Morrison.
Both he and Reed were taken to hospital but were relatively unscathed, the court heard.
The passenger said he knew his friend was “in drink” when they set off in the car at about 2am after watching the Euros football final, but still got in the vehicle.
Reed, of Low Farm to Newsham Road, was arrested and a subsequent breath test showed he was almost twice the legal drink drive limit.
It emerged that Reed was driving his girlfriend’s car without her knowledge and he wasn’t insured to drive the vehicle.
He was charged with dangerous driving, drink driving, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and driving without insurance. He admitted all matters and appeared for sentence on Thursday.
Ms Morrison said that following his arrest, Reed told officers: “I should have stopped. What have I done?”
Danielle Graham, for Reed, said the young farmer had been out “celebrating England’s participation in the Euros final (and) made the devastating decision to use his absent partner’s vehicle to drive out for cigarettes” in the early hours of July 12.
“When he saw the police vehicle he panicked,” she added.
She said Reed’s behaviour was “entirely out of character, a moment of madness”.
She added that Reed was ordinarily an “industrious, dependable and responsible” young man and father.
She said the family-run farming business relied on Reed “to provide experience and labour”.
She cited a “plethora” of “glowing” character references, most notably from his colleagues, business contacts and his father who ran an arable and gaming farm in Breckenbrough on which his son worked.
Judge Simon Hickey told Reed: “There was no chance you were ever going to outrun a BMW 330, but in drink you thought you could.
“You drove at an incredibly high speed, carrying a passenger left dazed and confused.”
Mr Hickey said it was only luck that Reed hadn’t “killed yourself or somebody else”.
However, he said he had noted Reed’s previously blame-free life and the 14 “glowing” character references attesting to his “good character”.
“You are a highly regarded young man who has held down a responsible job,” said Mr Hickey.
“If you go to prison, it will impact on the farm business, on your father and others. You are (otherwise) a young man of impeccable character.”
He said for that reason he was prepared to take the “exceptional” course of suspending the inevitable jail term.
The 10-month prison sentence was suspended for 18 months. Reed also received an 18-month driving ban.
In addition, the judge ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 costs.
Be the first to comment