Man convicted of ramming police vehicle in Salisbury

16 January 2019, 15:20 | Updated: 16 January 2019, 15:28

A man who deliberately rammed into a police vehicle has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Dale Read, 27, of Paisley Grove, Salisbury, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was also disqualified from driving.

It happened in August 2018 when Read was seen driving a Vauxhall Insignia at excess speed along the A360 Devizes Road in Salisbury.

He was pulled over but refused to hand his driving licence over and became obstructive. 

A second police vehicle attended the scene and pulled up in front of Read, who then revved his engine and reversed backwards at speed, ramming the police vehicle, causing more than  £3,000 worth of damage to the bumper, headlights and paintwork.

Read then made his escape by driving on the pavement between a tree and fence, smashing the fence, before speeding off and clipping a parked vehicle. 

The vehicle was located abandoned in Hazel Close where it was recovered and searches were carried out to locate Read. 

He handed himself in the following day. 

PC James Barrett said: "Read showed absolutely no respect for officers at the scene, or any other road users or pedestrians, driving at speed and dangerously on pavements, causing damage to other people's property. It is lucky that nobody was injured. 

"As a result of his actions, Read has been given a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and has been disqualified from driving for 18 months - once that time is up, he will have to pass an extended driving test." 

Read was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, pay a victim surcharge of £115 and pay compensation of £398 to the owner of the fence, £1,000 to Wiltshire Police for the damage caused to the vehicle, and £250 Crown Prosecution Service costs.