Banned Corby driver fled from unmarked police car

A disqualified driver who was spotted behind the wheel by officers in an unmarked car sobbed in the dock as he admitted a string of driving offences.

Two police constables driving in Oakley Road, Corby, spotted Ryan Johnson behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Tiguan, trying to fight his way through standing traffic.

They recognised the 23-year-old, formerly of Minden Close, Corby, as a man who had never passed a test and had previously been banned after driving without a licence.

They turned on their siren and began to follow Johnson but he attempted to overtake a queue of vehicles waiting at a roundabout before he drove around the roundabout in the wrong direction.

Officers followed him but abandoned the chase after it became dangerous.

Johnson gave himself up a few days later and attended a voluntary interview at Weekley Woods Justice Centre where he was charged with driving while disqualified, dangerous driving, using a car without insurance and failing to stop for police.

A statement read to the court from PC Beverley, one of the police officers in the unmarked car, said: “He was driving extremely dangerously. I’m amazed he didn’t hurt anyone.”

The court heard Johnson had five previous offences on his record including one for driving without a licence in January 2022 and driving while disqualified in December 2022.

In mitigation, the court heard how Johnson had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, had accepted his actions were ‘highly dangerous’ and was ‘embarrassed’ to find himself before the court.

The court was told that Johnson’s partner was seven months pregnant and the pair had found themselves homeless, living in a Travelodge on the A1 near Peterborough and an Air B&B.

Both Johnson and his partner were in tears as he was sentenced to a jail term of nine months, suspended for 18 months.

He will also be banned from driving for a further two years and will have to take a mandatory lengthened test before he is allowed to drive again. He will also have to complete 30 rehabilitation requirement days.

Recorder Shamim Qureshi said: “You’re in a Travelodge in the middle of nowhere it’s tempting to get in a car and drive but it’s not difficult to spot you given how you drive.”