Range Rover thief in 150mph Staffordshire chase – Stoke-on-Trent …

A thief made a 150mph dash after stealing an £84,000 Range Rover from Manchester Airport. Sam Toms, 19, and another man were seen on CCTV at the Terminal 2 multi-storey car park breaking into the Range Rover Sport using a device before driving through Staffordshire.

A police helicopter camera captured the ‘appalling’ driving as Toms undertook and overtook cars, ignored road markings, drove through red lights and almost crashed into a lorry. The 10-minute long chase continued despite officers on the ground deploying a stinger at one of the junctions he sailed through, with Toms reaching speeds of over 100mph.

Manchester Crown Court heard how the chase eventually came to an end when Toms lost control of the car after taking a left turn into a cul-de-sac and ran away, but officers were able to catch up with him. He pleaded guilty to theft, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving with no insurance. Toms, from Staffordshire, was jailed for 21 months and banned from driving for two years and three months.

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In the video, the dark blue 4x4 hurtles down the motorway as filmed by the chopper. Other cars on the inside lane can be seen to quickly move out the way as Toms, then 18, drives up close behind them. On occasions where two cars are side by side, he slows down before they move out of the way to allow him to pass.

On approach to exit junctions and roundabouts, Toms fails to stop, and immediately pulls out despite other oncoming traffic. As he speeds along the motorway, the white lines separating the lanes become blurred, indicating the immense speed he is travelling at.

The footage is taken after the stinger was deployed, meaning that the entire footage showed Toms driving at frightening speeds despite having three punctured tyres. At one stage he can be seen to cut across a grass verge on a roundabout in order to avoid traffic, before having to quickly turn right to avoid crashing into a HGV.

The chase eventually comes to an end after Toms jumps out of the Range Rover and runs along a number of residential roads before being stopped by officers and detained. He can be seen to lie on the ground before an officer handcuffs him.

Earlier this week, prosecutor Zoe Dawson said that at around 2pm on March 31 this year, a blue VW Golf entered a multi storey car park at Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. Toms was identified on CCTV in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, she said.

“The vehicle remained in the car park until just before 3pm, when it stopped behind a Range Rover Sport. At the time, the Range Rover was unoccupied, but he had parked it in a secure car park and had both sets of keys for that vehicle,” Ms Dawson said.

Footage captured one of the passengers leaning out of the Golf and intervening with the boot of the Range Rover for about ten minutes before two men got into the car.

The car, worth £84,000, then drove out of the car park following the Golf. It was later identified by police driving through Staffordshire towards the West Midlands on cloned registration plates.

A police helicopter followed the Range Rover as it drove towards the A661 before it began to accelerate and separated away from the Golf.

Officers on the ground were able to pick up their location and deployed a stinger at junction 3, resulting in a puncture to three of the Range Rover’s tyres.

However, the Range Rover continued on, and a police pursuit ensued. In footage shown to the court, the car undertook and overtook passing vehicles, failed to stop at road markings, went through red lights and almost collided with a lorry on a roundabout. It was also seen to drive off-road over a grass verge.

“It was driving at speeds at 150mph,” Ms Dawson said.

The chase eventually came to a stop at 10 minutes on Keys Crescent in Birmingham, where Toms attempted to make a left turn but lost control of the Range Rover. He immediately ran from the driver's side, and was later caught following a chase on foot by an officer.

The other officer noticed the Range Rover was still moving after Toms ran off, and had to get inside the car to bring it to a stop. As he did so he found a device used to break into the car as well as the car’s original registration plates.

As a result of the damage to the car, which ended up costing around £61,000, it was written off. In a statement the owner said he believed he had parked in a secure car park, and said it was his ‘pride and joy’. Toms was said to have previous convictions for dangerous driving and was on bail at the time.

His barrister said he fell into financial problems which resulted in him ‘doing favours’ for a group in Birmingham. “He was unable to take a step back and stand up against these men,” Jordan Millican said.

“He was, in his words ‘totally under pressure’ and became involved out of fear they would cause him some injury or harm. He accepts his behaviour demonstrates a lack of maturity.”

Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said this was the ‘most serious dangerous driving she’d seen in a very long time’.

“This was undoubtedly a pre-planned excursion to Manchester. You circulated around the car park until you found the car you wanted - I suspect the car was stolen to order. It’s obvious the police were following you and a stinger was deployed.

“You are very lucky to be here. You are lucky to be alive, and you are lucky not to be here for more serious charges.”

References

^{^} Couple get £11k gas bill because they didn’t know who to pay for 18 years (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Immigration probe as police line up in the middle of Tunstall (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
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