Raunds dangerous driver who went twice legal limit given prison sentence and banned for over a year

He was caught by police driving a silver Honda Civic at excessive speeds to avoid arrest on the morning of May 1 this year.

After being tracked down by patrolling police, Zamfir appeared to indicate he was going to stop, but instead accelerated along the B663 Raunds Road towards Ringstead, reaching speeds over of 80mph on the country road, and twice the 30mph limit as he entered the villages of Ringstead and Denford.

North LPA Response officer PC Danielle Shields, who led the investigation, said: “Ionut Zamfir drove just over three miles in four minutes – a journey, which if following the Highway Code, should have taken him at least twice that time.

“Instead, the standard of Zamfir’s driving was at the very least careless as he put the lives of innocent road users at risk in a bid to save himself and evade arrest, and I am pleased another irresponsible and illegal driver has been taken off our roads.”

Zamfir overtook on an s-bend and drove the wrong way around a roundabout before leaving the vehicle. Police searched the area and eventually arrested him, where he was charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously and without third party insurance.

Zamfir, of West Priors Court, Northampton, pleaded guilty at an earlier Northampton Crown Court hearing, and was sentenced on October 13. He will have to undergo an extended driving test before being able to regain his licence.