A DRIVER who deliberately rammed a police car head on in a high speed chase across Bradford has been locked up for eight months.
Lewis Judson went more than 80mph in a 30mph zone and jumped two sets of red traffic lights before accelerating his Mitsubishi Shogun into the oncoming patrol vehicle, smashing backwards into a parked car and hitting metal railings, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.
Judson, 20, of Clayton Lane, Clayton, Bradford, claimed to hear voices telling him not to stop but a psychiatric report ordered by his defence team found that he was not mentally ill.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and having no insurance or licence on Saturday, October 24.
Judson was send to a young offender institution for eight months and banned from driving for two years.
Prosecutor Peter Byrne told the court that police officers in a marked patrol car ordered Judson to stop at 1.30am but he accelerated off up Clayton Road.
He ran a red light on to Cemetery Road and sped off at 80mph in the 30 limit.
Judson jumped another red light and went 50mph on Thornton Road before driving across the pavement and over concrete "tank traps" into Oaks Lane, when he proceeded to go "off road".
A second police vehicle joined the pursuit and Judson was picked up ten minutes later heading along Washington Street, Girlington, towards the city centre.
Mr Byrne said he purposefully rammed an oncoming police car head on at speed.
He then reversed rapidly into a parked Toyota Yaris before losing control of the Shogun completely and crashing into railings.
Judson, who had a male and female passenger with him, fled on foot but was apprehended.
He made no reply to all police questions.
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The court heard that his six previous convictions included an offence of aggravated vehicle taking in his father's car.
Judson's solicitor advocate, Ashok Khullar, said: "He made an impulsive, foolish, out of character decision to drive that day."
Judson was very distressed at the time after his father had suffered a recent heart attack.
Although three vehicles were badly damaged, no one was hurt.
The judge, Recorder Ian Harris, said: "It was, by any standards, an appalling piece of driving."
The shogun was a large and heavy vehicle and Judson put other road users and pedestrians at risk, before deliberately hitting the police car.
"You accelerated heavily and rammed his vehicle head on, causing considerable damage to it," Recorder Harris said.
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