Mold man jailed for dangerous high speed chase at Bagillt

Samuel Dodd, of Milford Street, appeared for sentence at Mold Crown Court on Thursday via video link from prison.

The 26-year-old had previously admitted numerous offences, including:

• Dangerous driving
• Taking a vehicle without the owner's consent
• Driving without a licence
• Driving without insurance
• Failing to identify the driver of a vehicle when required

Karl Scholz, prosecuting, told the court that on April 21 this year, police on patrol in an unmarked vehicle on the A548 outside Bagillt spotted an Audi motor vehicle driving in excess of the 50mph speed limit.

The officers activated blue lights and sirens and indicated the speeding vehicle to stop.

But the defendant was behind the wheel, and instead he accelerated up to 90mph in the 50 zone before turning off into Bagillt.

He continued to drive at high speeds, including at 70mph in a 20 zone, going through a red light, overtaking other road users on bends and narrowly missing a parked car - all in an effort to evade capture.

Eventually he turned back onto the A548 and in order to avoid queuing traffic at a red light, he drove onto the wrong side of the road.

Dodd continued along the wrong side at speed, driving into oncoming traffic.

At that point, police terminated the chase as the situation was becoming far too dangerous.

Samuel Dodd (NWP) (Image: North Wales Police) The owner of the vehicle was identified as the defendant's girlfriend, and when police went to see her, she was on the phone with Dodd.

He would not tell them where he was - offering to meet the officers in Chester, which he did not.

The next day, Dodd handed himself in at Mold Police Station, where he was arrested and interviewed.

On May 8, he received a notice asking him to declare who the driver of the vehicle in the April 21 incident was.

He did not reply.

Further checks confirmed he had no insurance or valid licence.

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Simon Rogers, defending, told the court: "As Your Honour will see in the conclusion of the pre-sentence report, there is no suggestion or alternative put forward other than immediate custody in this case and in fairness to the defendant, he is realistic about that.

"He is entitled to credit [for pleading guilty] and in reality that is the best mitigation."

Mr Rogers said his client had expressed remorse over his actions, and said he was "extremely ashamed" of what he'd done.

"His upbringing appears to have been a difficult one characterised by a lack of stability.

"There have been issues with mental health and a long history of depression."

Mr Rogers added his client had shown "insight" into his offending and hoped to use his time in custody to undertake courses, and then to gain employment on his release.

Recorder Wyn Lloyd-Jones told the defendant: "There was a chase and so bad was it, that police decided to pull back and let you carry on because it was getting so dangerous.

"You know as well as I do that people get seriously injured, often killed, in high speed circumstances such as these.

"It is pure luck that something didn't happen."

Dodd received an overall sentence of 12 months in jail.

He was banned from driving for three years, with an additional six months added to reflect the time he would spend behind bars on the sentence.