KESGRAVE: A wheelchair-bound man who drove at speeds of up to 70mph in his high-performance BMW as he tried to lose a police car has been jailed for six months.
Jane Hunt
KESGRAVE: A wheelchair-bound man who drove at speeds of up to 70mph in his high-performance BMW as he tried to lose a police car has been jailed for six months.
Robert Hubert, 29, was left paralysed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident in 2006 and bought his powerful BMW with some of his compensation money, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
On November 23, a policeman in a marked car saw Hubert driving along Landseer Road, Ipswich, at speed and gave chase with the blue lights on his car flashing, said Jade Martin, prosecuting.
The police helicopter, which had been assisting in a separate incident, had sight of the BMW.
When the police car was unable to catch up with it, the helicopter tracked its path along Bixley Road and Foxhall Road before it turned into Dobbs Lane.
Hubert's vehicle finally came to a halt in the driveway of a house in Ashdale Road, Kesgrave.
Miss Martin said a police officer who had been waiting in the area saw the BMW travelling at 70mph in a 30mph limit and followed it into Ashdale Road, where it was doing 60mph.
After his arrest, Hubert said he had panicked upon seeing the police car in Landseer Road because he was a banned driver and feared he was going to be arrested.
He said he thought his high-performance car would be able to lose the police vehicle and he admitted he had driven dangerously.
Hubert, of Ashdale Road, Kesgrave, admitted driving while disqualified, dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
Jailing him for six months and banning him from driving for 12 months, Judge John Devaux said Hubert had five convictions for driving while disqualified.
“Your disabled condition hasn't prevented you from reoffending,” he said. “This was prolonged bad driving over five and a half miles. Some of it was cross country and some in built up areas.”
Roger Thomson, for Hubert, said his client had been left with a broken back after the 2006 accident.
“It maybe that having a large car was one of the ways he has tried to compensate for what happened,” he said.
Was Hubert's sentence fair? Write to Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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