A 24-year-old Great Blakenham man who was involved in a high speed police chase in a stolen car has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Sentencing Billy Wilson, Judge Emma Peters said that during the chase he had been a passenger in a car that was driven at a dangerously high speed through a residential area in Needham Market.

The vehicle, which had been stolen from Pearcroft Road in Ipswich, had mounted kerbs and crossed verges and had put anyone who happened to be in the area in danger, said the judge.

Andrew Thompson, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court, said the car came to the attention of the police in Stowmarket Road, Great Blakenham in June 2020.

Officers had followed the car but lost sight of it in Hurstlea Road Needham Market and then saw the vehicle appear behind them.

Wilson had got out of the car in Anderson Close and damaged tiles on a roof when he climbed on it to escape.

Two months earlier Wilson had crashed a car that had been stolen from New Cut in Hadleigh into a hedge and a ditch on the B1083 near Sutton resulting in the vehicle being written off.

Wilson of Chalk Hill Lane, Great Blakenham admitted two offences of aggravated vehicle taking, criminal damage and assaulting a prison officer in August 2020.

He was given a 21-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 50 days.

He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and to pay £400 compensation and costs.

Mr Thompson said the assault on the prison officer happened while Wilson was a patient on Capel Ward at Ipswich Hospital after taking a drug overdose while he was on temporary prison release.

He had woken up and had thrown the contents of a cup of water over a prison officer who was guarding him.

Steven Dyble for Wilson accepted his client had a bad criminal record and that during his teens he had “tested the authorities with a determined spree of offending.”

However, he said that since the incident when he had thrown water at the prison officer he had weaned himself off alcohol and drugs and had found himself employment.

“It seems at long last he may have grown up,” said Mr Dyble.