Man escapes jail sentence after crashing car in police chase

Rhys Lewis, of Cae Glas Newydd, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to five counts of dangerous driving, failure to stop, breach of licence, driving without insurance and possession of cannabis.

Lewis appeared at Newport Crown Court on Friday, June 12 where he was given a six month sentence suspended for two years.

Prosecutor Jeff Jones told the court how Lewis only had an expired provisional licence at the time of the offence on May 8.

He was signalled to stop by a police officer but instead sped away at 50 mph along the High Street in Fleur de Lys.

The court was shown a video of Lewis driving through a gap between a parked car and an oncoming car which caused a collision.

Mr Jones told the court: "One car was parked on the left side and another was travelling towards him.

"He took the gamble of driving between the two thinking he would get though. But it didn't pay off."

Lewis sped off before being found at a service station by police. He came forward and gave himself up to the officer.

In the car, which Lewis had bought just two months earlier, police found four bags of cannabis for personal use.

Judge PK Lewis told the defendant: "You accelerated to 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. You took a turn on the wrong side of the road and were doing your upmost to avoid arrest.

"You drove between parked cars and an oncoming vehicle. I have seen the impact which is considerble.

"It's surely fortunate no one was injured by your driving. If any passengers had been in the road there would have been no opportunity for you to stop.

"It's to your credit that you gave yourself up to police. Your best mitigation is the fact you pleaded guilty to these offences at the first opportunity."

In mitigation John Ryan, defending, also said Lewis suffers from anxiety and depression but "there is work that can be done with him".

Lewis also has been given a four month curfew to stay in his house between 10pm and 6am.