A MAN has been jailed for four months after ‘recklessly driving’ in a stolen van whilst disqualified and colliding with another vehicle on a Bedworth road.
Police said it was a miracle no one was killed as a result of David Mumford’s dangerous driving, which has also seen him disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving license for 45 months until an extended test of competence has been passed.
The 39-year-old, of Coton Road, Nuneaton, will also need to pay a £187 victim surcharge.
The van, a white Mercedes Sprinter, was reported stolen to West Midlands Police on August 21 by a delivery driver in Coventry.
On Sunday, September 3, Northamptonshire Police started pursuing a stolen vehicle, confirmed to be the Sprinter van on cloned plates, which crossed the border down the M6 Northbound.
From there, Mumford drove down the wrong direction on the A444 at high speed, and Northamptonshire Police were forced to abandon their chase due to the risks of a head-on collision with the public.
A police helicopter continued to track the vehicle.
Mumford took the junction into Newtown Road where the van collided at speed with another vehicle, causing minor injuries to the passengers.
Mumford, along with a passenger, attempted to make a break for it, but were quickly arrested by officers from Warwickshire Police.
A motorbike, which had been reported stolen from an address in Coventry, was found inside the van.
On October 3, Mumford was found guilty of driving a motor vehicle dangerously, for possession of cannabis, for driving while disqualified and without insurance, and for receiving stolen goods.
PC Halfacree from Bedworth Patrol Investigations Unit said: “Frankly, even a provisional license holder should know that driving the wrong way up a 70mph max road is a phenomenally bad idea.
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to Northamptonshire Police for their vigilance in identifying the vehicle and pursuing it as far as possible.
“We are happy that some good came out of this in the seizure of the intact stolen motorbike, and in that we’ve given Mumford some time to consider his life choices and the people he has hurt.”
